Teaching positions were hard to come by when I graduated from college with my bachelors degree in education. Eager to get my foot in the door, I accepted the first position I was offered as a K-3 ELA/Math Interventionist. Unknowingly the experiences from having been an Interventionist as my first teaching position shaped my teaching mindset and the teacher I would later become. I have the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) at Michigan State University (MSU) to thank for helping me to discover my way. 

 

     As an Interventionist, I worked closely with individual students to find the root of their struggles with areas of content. With close monitoring and continuous communication, I was able to help correct students' perceptions of content before they became misconceptions that hindered their understanding. I enjoyed being able to modify lessons to the individual learner’s needs and interests as it motivated them to want to try to learn and to be engaged. The communications we had and the personalized learning experiences I designed for students created positive teacher-student relationships that provided a comfortable, fear free atmosphere that encouraged learning. This was the type of learning environment I became familiar with. It was when I accepted a technology teaching position when reality hit that most learning environments are not of this nature. I was faced with large class sizes that made it difficult to personalize learning and having multiple classes made it difficult to form strong teacher-student relationships. To make it through lessons, I unfortunately had to resort to traditional teaching approaches that included lectures, assignments, and tests. I was thankful though, when I was later presented with the opportunity to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).

 

     The STEM teaching and learning approach fascinated me. I loved being involved in their learning experiences and collaborating with them to check for understanding instead of just lecturing and grading work. I loved how students were learning from experimenting and collaborating with others rather than from textbooks. I wanted to better understand the culture of STEM and how to properly implement its affordances into my classroom and into our learning experiences. I needed help transitioning my now traditional teaching mindset into a STEM mindset in order to do this. Sure, Pinterest was a great go-to for ideas and blogs were a great source for advice in helping with this but I wanted an all-in-one resource. I finally decided I was ready to go back to school and earn my masters degree in a STEM related field to help me shift my mindset. 

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Lessons Learned

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     I chose to stay loyal to the university where I had earned my bachelor's degree from. They offered an online program that focused on technology use in the classroom. Being at the same university, I imagined my graduate program and it’s courses would be structured very similar to those of my undergraduate program: weekly modules, written lectures, end-of-module assessments, and a gradebook where I could communicate with my professor. From what I gathered from others, masters programs entailed conducting research and composing essays - my least favorite subjects. I prepared myself for just that and that was exactly how my first course panned out. I predicted the remaining of my courses would have been structured the same but I never found out as I was notified the day before my second course was to start that my program had been cancelled. But that’s life and you know, as:

 

“Mama always said, life was like a box of chocolates. 

You never know what you’re gonna get.” 

-Forrest Gump

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New Experiences

 

     I set out in search of a university with a similar online program that would accept my one course. My first Google search pulled up the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) Program at Michigan State University (MSU). I looked into the program, read through the course descriptions, and just knew this was the program, this was the school. MAET not only focused on the use of technology in the classroom but the importance of understanding how technology can be utilized and integrated to support learning and teaching in ways beyond its intended purpose. In addition, this program focused on the psychology behind learning and teaching that would help us in understanding this integration. Even though I was going in a new program at a new university, I was still in a graduate program and had prepared myself for the graduate program structure I knew. I soon discovered, little did I actually know...

 

    Courses in the MAET program were designed in a very welcoming manner. It actually felt as if I met and knew all of my instructors through their videos and communications. Lectures were replaced with what felt like written, informative conversations with a peer. Our units not only consisted of these written conversations but included resources and activities that were meaningful and served as nice brain breaks so as to not lose our attention. Yes, essays were still a requirement but they were not what defined my learning. Our courses consisted of a project that took the entire semester to complete and each unit was a step in the process towards completing that project. Ultimately, each course was designed as a learning process where you gain knowledge and understanding that you continue to apply and deepen as you reach your end goal. The learning processes themselves were fun, collaborative, and unique to the individual learner. Our essays were the knowledge and understanding we gained, the connections we formed, and how we internalized our experiences. We were assessed on our demonstration and the communication of our understanding, not only by what we remembered. Without the stress of receiving a grade for how well I could remember, I was able to relax and focus on the content which ultimately allowed for stronger connections and deeper understandings.  And the guidance, encouragement, and positivity from our instructors along the way were nice motivators to want to learn more, try new things, and feel confident in doing so.

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CEP 811: Adapting Innovative Technologies in Education

 

     This is the course that first introduced me to thinking outside-the-box and the true meaning of technology integration. In CEP 811, we were to repurpose a piece of technology and “get thrifty” with items we already had on hand to create a meaningful learning activity. Using some electrical tape, dominos, Dixie cups, binders, and an elbow macaroni box, I designed an obstacle course on my kitchen floor that I practiced coding a Sphero through. The goal was for my Sphero to go through a maze, over a bridge, and knock down the domino/cup contraption. After many failed attempts and revisions, my Sphero successfully completed the obstacle course. I later combined this activity with an existing Engineering is Elementary lesson to create a technology integrated learning experience where the technology (Sphero) was utilized beyond its original intent (repurposed).