Looking Ahead:
A Lifelong Learner with a Growth Mindset
I am excited at the prospect of setting attainable goals for myself that will allow me to grow more confident as a teacher and inspire my students. In my journey to never stop learning, I am hoping to accomplish these goals: integrate technology into my literacy instruction, become a leader in education, and to continue seeking out professional development opportunities that will ensure I am using current, research-based best practices in my classroom. These goals will help me continue to learn and grow into a more effective educator that is able to influence students, colleagues, and myself to achieve a growth mindset.
One way I plan to improve my teaching practice is to integrate more technology into my literacy instruction. I am very lucky to be in a district that has 1:1 technology for students. In my second grade classroom, each student has a Chromebook they can use for various activities throughout the day. I currently use this technology to have students complete assignments on the websites that align to our curriculum for math and reading. I consider myself to be tech savvy and many seasoned teachers come to me for assistance with various technologies in their classrooms. One way to reach my goal would be to attend professional development related to technology integration. A few of my colleagues have attended the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) Conference in Grand Rapids. The conference focuses on sharing educational technologies with educators. I think this conference would be an incredible way for me to learn new technologies that I could integrate into my literacy instruction.
My second goal is to become a leader in education. I enjoy sharing resources and research-based best practices with my colleagues. I am only in my 4th year of teaching, but I feel like I have the potential to be a powerful leader in education. I strive to learn something new every day. I am only a few months away from graduating with my Master of Arts in Education (MAED) degree from Michigan State University. Many would think of this as approaching the finish line, but not me. With my growth mindset, I am already thinking of what I will do as a lifelong learner to challenge myself to improve my teaching practice. To help me become a leader in education, I am planning to complete the Master of Arts in K-12 Educational Administration Program from Michigan State University. This program would prepare me for various leadership positions in the school setting. Another way to grow into this leadership role would be to help with training when my building principal needs assistance. Sharing my expertise in literacy instruction and new technologies would be beneficial for my colleagues and our students.
My final goal is to continue seeking out professional development opportunities in all subject areas. Staying up to date on current, best practices in education will ensure that I am providing meaningful instruction to my students. Conferences can be pricey and I generally have to pay for extra professional development out of my own pocket. I could list off several conferences I would like to attend (like going to New York to attend this $825 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project training!), but I want to make sure my goals are realistic and attainable. With that said, there are substantial resources available to me that don’t cost a penny. In my undergraduate career at Michigan State University, I created a Twitter for one of my education courses. The goal was to follow different education-related people and companies to learn more about best practices in education. I have rarely used Twitter in the past few years, but I have decided to rejoin and find educators, companies, and other people to follow. I could also participate in weekly Twitter Chats related to education, such as #edchat, #edtechchat, and #tlap.
My growth mindset is going to be an incredible asset for me as I grow as an educator. Learning new technologies that can be integrated into my literacy instruction, growing into a leadership role, and seeking out additional professional development are my goals moving forward. I am eager to continue my journey as a lifelong learner.
To learn more about growth mindset, check out this TED Talk from Carol Dweck:
When I first started to reflect on my future learning goals, my mind started to swirl with tons of ideas on how I could continue to grow as an educator. I firmly believe that teachers are lifelong learners and are always learning and growing alongside their students. This can be a daunting challenge and can be intimidating for young teachers like myself. When thinking about these goals, I thought about what I teach my own students when they are goal setting. I tell them to use a “growth mindset” when they are trying to reach their goals. People with growth mindsets understand that extra time and effort is required to develop new abilities and to learn new things. Click here to learn why mindsets matter.
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