When I signed up for the DLL (Digital Learning and Leading) program at Lamar University, I expected a very different experience. I expected a program where we would be learning new technologies and getting the certifications Lamar advertised as part of the program, like the MCE. What I’ve learned has been very different. I’m not using any more technology that I did before joining the program and the certificates are not a focus in the program. Instead, it’s been more of a study of learning psychology – why people learn, fixed and growth mindsets for learning, a little about how people learn, and how to propose learning ideas without specificity so they can be adopted and implemented in a variety of ways. The latter point was an experience with failing forward from my first class. I started with something too specific and had to broaden the scope.
I’m only 2 courses into the program, though, so there may be a surprise around the bend.
I grimaced when I saw the first course was about blended learning. I did not see that coming. My school district has adopted “blended learning” in the form of a very regimented station rotation model that feels unauthentic to most teachers and learners. The teachers hate it because they feel like they must come up with busy work for the students to make every station work. The kids hate it because they feel like they are wasting time on inauthentic assignments.
With this as my only experience with blended learning, I thought I had made a mistake signing up for this degree. Then I read the book “blended” as part of the coursework for the first course. I learned that there is not one blended learning solution that will fit every teacher and every learner. I now have knowledge I can use to support using a different blended method in my classroom. One that makes sense for me and my students.
My second course has been helpful on a psychological level for me. I liked the message about growth and fixed mindsets in the book Mindsets (Dweck, 2016), but what really helped me was the continued research about the mindsets after reading the book. I found some of Dweck’s philosophies about learning problematic because I didn’t feel they addressed systemic issues faced by some of our learners. Reflection on the additional materials related to the book's concepts, though, allowed me to see that even though our learners are having to deal with the inequities of the world, if we teach them the growth mindset, we can give them a tool to fight against those inequities and succeed. (see my Growth Mindset Plan)
In my research, I realized my “why.” Why I get up every morning and give my students everything I’ve got and then some. I think of Malala and I reference her in my classroom often. I tell my students what she had to go through to get an education. I want my students to know how important an education is to them and to never let anyone tell them they can’t or try to take away their opportunities to learn. By arming them with a growth mindset, teaching them that failure is ok as long as you learn from it, and showing them the power of yet, I hope to prepare them to take on the world as a force for good to make it a better place. (see my Learning Manifesto and an update, More Manifesto)
I’ve also learned that a substantial part of this program centers around using an ePortfolio as a learning tool.
In my first course, we were encouraged to make our ePortfolio, but it wasn’t mandatory. I’m glad I built a prototype early on, though. It gave me time to make changes, diffuse and reflect a bit, then come back to make it better.
The ePortfolio itself is a part of my portfolio. It’s helping me organize my learning in a less traditional way than just keeping a folder on my google drive. That’s kind of nice. And, much like making improvements to my ePortfolio site, when I browse through my site and see the work I’ve done, it allows me to review my projects, and make past projects better.
The study, “Factors that Contribute to ePortfolio Persistence” (Thibodeaux, Cummings, & Harapnuik, 2017) referenced research by Janosik and Frank (2013) which described ePortfolios as a learning tool that allows learners to “grow in their accomplishments.” I think “grow in their accomplishments” here means that students can reflect upon what they’ve accomplished, review their learning, and improve upon previous ideas and projects.
The ePortfolios support the COVA approach to learning because they give us, the students, the choice of how we layout our sites and the platform we use. We lay them out in ways that are meaningful to us, within reason, so we can find our materials and reflect upon them. I’ve started using my site as a bookmark for my many PLNs (see my Learning Networks) and a place to keep a list of books/articles/media I want to consume in the near future. It’s been helpful to me for the class, but I’m not sure if I will maintain this site after I graduate.
The study by Thibodeaux, Cummings, and Harapnuik (2017) researched why students either maintained or abandoned their ePortfolio after the program, finding that students tended to maintain their ePortfolio after the program if the work was authentic and still relevant to them post-program. One of their respondents said that they still maintained their site because the site became more about producing content for others, and not for themselves. I’m not certain where the next few courses will take me and if my site will ever be about producing content for others. I have a blog for the requirements of this course, but I don’t foresee maintaining it, because it’s a lot like journaling, and, despite my wordy posts, I’m not much of a journaler.
But if you had told me 25 years ago that I would be teaching high school math and that I would love trail running ultramarathons, I would have thought you’d lost your mind. So, anything is possible.
Links within my site:
References
Dweck, C. S. (2016). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books.
Janosik, S. M., & Frank, T. E. (2013). Using ePortfolios to measure student learning in a graduate preparation program in higher education. International Journal of ePortfolio, 3(1), 13-20.
Thibodeaux, T., Cummings, C., & Harapnuik, D. (2017). Factors that Contribute to ePortfolio Persistence. International Journal of EPortfolio, 7(1), 1-12.
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