Looking Forward: Future Education Goals
As I enter my third year of teaching I find it amazing that I am almost finished with my Master of Arts in Education. I had always envisioned achieving and receiving my master’s degree quickly, and am proud of the work and effort I have put toward this major achievement in my life. As I think about my future career I recognize that I can continue to set professional and educational goals for myself. It is my goal to be a continuous learner, immersing myself in research and professional development that support teachers who work with students who have special needs, working with English Learner (EL) students and learning about different language, and incorporating technology into the daily lessons in my classroom. Upon reflection on my teaching practice and growth over the past few years I have recognized that I have room to grow. My goal is to work toward supporting all students by integrating technology, focusing on special education interventions, or creating a multicultural environment in my classroom.
I believe it is important for teachers, and all staff members, to have background on accommodations and modifications that can be used in a classroom to support learners who have special needs. During my master’s study through Michigan State University, I took a course entitled ‘Policy, Practices, and Perspectives in Special Education’, which helped me understand how to identify learning disabilities, research accommodations, and introduced me to a resource explaining to educators the importance of a social and emotional curriculum and understanding called Positive Behavior Intervention Supports. It is a goal of mine to work with my school to implement a school wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) system and continue to learn how to apply those strategies in my classroom. After taking this course I realized the importance of learning about strategies to support students academically, but also learned of the importance in supporting students socially and emotionally. It is my goal to continue to learn new strategies and continue researching policies that will make each student’s school day more structured and enjoyable. I plan to achieve this goal by working with my administration and school social worker to create a committee to begin a PBIS in our school, along with continuing professional development on special education topics, including Social and Emotional Learning.
Another goal that I have for myself is to work toward strengthening communication between students, staff, and the community. I plan to work toward closing the communication gap that I witness in my district by obtaining an English Language Learner (EL) endorsement so that I am able to support EL students in a stronger way. In order to pursue this goal I would like to obtain my EL endorsement from a nearby university or online program. I am interested in this endorsement because it requires about 15 credits which can be finalized within a year. I am interested in that because I would like to apply the information and strategies learned by earning this endorsement to my professional practice as soon as possible. Not only would I like to learn about different language and cultures in these EL courses, but I would like to take some time to learn sign language, as a way to broaden the group of students that I will be able to support. I am fascinated by language, which leads me to desire to learn more about EL students, and feel that learning a new language, sign language, will give me new insight that I would otherwise not have.
The last goal that I have set for myself as a future learner is to incorporate more technology based learning in my classroom so that I can support all students. My district is fortunate enough to have nine Chrome Books and five iPads per classroom, however, I feel under qualified to use the technology to its fullest potential. I worry that in the future I will have a student in my class who will need extra supports with technology and that I will not have the background knowledge and ability to support them to level in which they need. My goal is to learn to use new apps, software, and sites that can allow me to support and progress monitor my students in a tech-savy way. A co-worker of mine has incorporated her classroom iPads using an app called Seesaw. She is able to create formative assessments that are engaging and allow students to add their voice to narrate their work. I plan to follow Twitter accounts, Pinterest, and teacher blogs, along with use the district tech coach as a way to learn more about incorporating technology into a classroom.
As I think about how fast I progressed through my Master of Arts in Education I realize that I will be able to accomplish the goals that I have set for my future with relative ease. I know that these goals will help me continuously learn and become a stronger educator and person. I want to focus on researching and studying languages and policies to support all students academically and socially while integrating technology seamlessly. Continuing to be a life-long educational learner in each of those topics is my overall goal for my future.
I believe it is important for teachers, and all staff members, to have background on accommodations and modifications that can be used in a classroom to support learners who have special needs. During my master’s study through Michigan State University, I took a course entitled ‘Policy, Practices, and Perspectives in Special Education’, which helped me understand how to identify learning disabilities, research accommodations, and introduced me to a resource explaining to educators the importance of a social and emotional curriculum and understanding called Positive Behavior Intervention Supports. It is a goal of mine to work with my school to implement a school wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) system and continue to learn how to apply those strategies in my classroom. After taking this course I realized the importance of learning about strategies to support students academically, but also learned of the importance in supporting students socially and emotionally. It is my goal to continue to learn new strategies and continue researching policies that will make each student’s school day more structured and enjoyable. I plan to achieve this goal by working with my administration and school social worker to create a committee to begin a PBIS in our school, along with continuing professional development on special education topics, including Social and Emotional Learning.
Another goal that I have for myself is to work toward strengthening communication between students, staff, and the community. I plan to work toward closing the communication gap that I witness in my district by obtaining an English Language Learner (EL) endorsement so that I am able to support EL students in a stronger way. In order to pursue this goal I would like to obtain my EL endorsement from a nearby university or online program. I am interested in this endorsement because it requires about 15 credits which can be finalized within a year. I am interested in that because I would like to apply the information and strategies learned by earning this endorsement to my professional practice as soon as possible. Not only would I like to learn about different language and cultures in these EL courses, but I would like to take some time to learn sign language, as a way to broaden the group of students that I will be able to support. I am fascinated by language, which leads me to desire to learn more about EL students, and feel that learning a new language, sign language, will give me new insight that I would otherwise not have.
The last goal that I have set for myself as a future learner is to incorporate more technology based learning in my classroom so that I can support all students. My district is fortunate enough to have nine Chrome Books and five iPads per classroom, however, I feel under qualified to use the technology to its fullest potential. I worry that in the future I will have a student in my class who will need extra supports with technology and that I will not have the background knowledge and ability to support them to level in which they need. My goal is to learn to use new apps, software, and sites that can allow me to support and progress monitor my students in a tech-savy way. A co-worker of mine has incorporated her classroom iPads using an app called Seesaw. She is able to create formative assessments that are engaging and allow students to add their voice to narrate their work. I plan to follow Twitter accounts, Pinterest, and teacher blogs, along with use the district tech coach as a way to learn more about incorporating technology into a classroom.
As I think about how fast I progressed through my Master of Arts in Education I realize that I will be able to accomplish the goals that I have set for my future with relative ease. I know that these goals will help me continuously learn and become a stronger educator and person. I want to focus on researching and studying languages and policies to support all students academically and socially while integrating technology seamlessly. Continuing to be a life-long educational learner in each of those topics is my overall goal for my future.
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