As a learner, I met the goals set for this course. I was able to go back in my learning journey and reflect upon the skills, beliefs, and values acquired through each one of the experiences I had the opportunity to engage in throughout the program.
In this course, I had the chance to investigate and evaluate how the COVA approach has helped me learn and then apply the COVA approach’s principles to design meaningful learning environments that give my students choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning opportunities. By analyzing my learning process, evaluating the lessons learned, and using these insights to guide future innovation project leadership, I was also able to structure and analyze my innovation project.
I am aware that, as a teacher, I must push my students’ ideas. But I must also push myself to consider what lies ahead for my kids. What challenges will the young brains in my class encounter in 5, 10, or 15 years? What kind of talents will they require in ten years? According to Mitra (2013), educators need to concentrate on the changes that are yet to come in the rapidly changing world we currently live in. Humans tend to rely on what is comfortable for them, yet seeing ahead on the road might be difficult. I have never felt more equipped as a teacher to fulfill the needs of my kids. I have been forced to act as a result of the changes in the educational landscape. My students weren’t interested, which was something I was able to realize after reviewing my own work. The literature review gave me the background knowledge I needed to understand more about blended learning. I view myself as a lifelong learner, and the body of literature has given me a new perspective on how to recognize and address the needs of my kids. Action research thus provided me with a method to use my findings right away in my classroom. I contacted other colleagues from my district as I was creating the action research plan. There was a lack of student participation in other foreign language courses, according to the foreign language teachers themselves. Knowing this, I chose to focus on boosting student involvement when developing the research question. To build a network of support, I connected with other teachers who were using blended learning in the classroom. I have started following other educators on Twitter and have joined a few Facebook groups. Additionally, I went to a conference on foreign languages where I spoke about my problem and got feedback on the action research plan I had in place.
“My learning journey” post helped me reflect upon the action steps I took throughout the course to get to this point. It has been a great learning journey. I used the feedforward provided by Dr. Harapnuik to revise and edit my work. The last assignment gave me an opportunity to put all the pieces together. Looking back at how it all started and where I am now gives me goosebumps. I was pushed by each assignment and although I felt a bit uncormfortable with the process, I pushed through it. Change is not easy – yes, it is easier said than done. But the work I put in throughout the program allowed me to be a better educator for my students.
Discussion board participation was needed for the course. I shared a number of my thoughts and actively engaged with my classmates, offering feedback and feed-forward. They provided me with input, which I used to improve my study questions.
Self-assessment grade: 92
Fernando Herrera 