Changing Focus

Yesterday was the first day of my third course in the M. Ed. Digital Leading and Learning program at Lamar University. To say that I have learned a lot in the past few months is an understatement. I have learned so much in such a short time, but I think the biggest take away I have come away with so far is how much we, as educators and overall human beings, have to change our focus.

Our world is constantly changing and lately, it has been changing at warp speed. Many of us have been inundated with technology, software, and workshops to learn how to use all of this due to the pandemic. Some of us LOVE this stuff. Other, not so much. However, I honestly believe that we need be taking this unprecedented (anyone sick of that word yet?) opportunity to start to change our focus as educators. How are we using this technology to teach our students from a distance? How are we going to use this technology to teach our students once we get back to in person learning? Is the "test" still really the most important thing? How are we going to continue using this new technology in our daily lives once things start to go back to "normal"?

I for one, have always struggled with having to teach my 9th grade English students the weekly boring vocabulary lists, the short stories that very few of them want to read and many of them cannot comprehend on their own, Shakespeare, and the numerous five paragraph essay assignments that I am forced to assign. No matter how many times I rewrite plans, come up with fun activities, plan a field trip (that ultimately gets cancelled due to lack of student interest or funding), I can never fully engage every one of the 30 students that are sitting in my English classroom. I have known for a very long time it is because they are forced to complete assignments that have absolutely no value to them. How do I change their focus?

COVA and a chance to learn and practice a growth mindset. Plain and simple. Allow them choose what they want to read about, which words they need to learn to better their vocabulary, and let them use their own voices to write about topics that interest them. Engage in real conversations about learning and their processes. Teach them that it is okay to be wrong as long as they are willing to go back and find out how they can be right. It doesn't seem like such a novel idea, but we don't allow our students time to engage in their own learning experience enough. If I am learning so much from the COVA teaching approach,I know for a fact that my students will too.

My success in the DLL program is absolutely grounded in the growth mindset. After my first course (5305), I knew that this program was what I needed not only in my professional life, but also in my personal life. I have learned that I learn so much more without being lectured to or vigorously copying down notes. (Which is what we all thought going back to college was going to be all about. Don't lie.) I have gone back and reworked almost every single assignment that I turned in, even if I received an "A" on it the first time. We have been given the opportunity give, take, and learn from the feedback of others, and this has been a catalyst in changing the way that I thought that I learned. One of the most important aspects of all of this learning that I have been doing, is that I have been doing almost all of it using technology. If I can change my own focus about the way that I learn in just a few short months, I know that I am capable of changing the focus of how I teach my students. They are my main focus. Not a pre-test, post-test, or a state test. I am changing for my students so that they can have a real chance to help change the world.