Contribution to Your Learning

“Learning never exhausts the mind.” – Leonardo da Vinci 

Contributions

The members of my core group are: Tania Barrientos, Angel Crittend, and Sara Eder

Self-Assessment Grade

I was extremely active in my core group, consistently submitted my assignments on time, and took care to ensure all information was included. When I replied to individuals I ensured that my post contributed with added meaning. I feel that based on this information I should receive a 89/100 for EDLD 5313 and a 95/100 for EDLD 5389.

During 5313, I learned about creating significant learning environments. I loved the idea of getting students more involved with their learning. The concept of using play to teach is a fantastic motivator for students. I spent time understanding learning theories and self-reflected to find my own personal beliefs.  Then using the concepts outlined in A New Culture of Learning along with a solid foundation of philosophy, I created two variations of lesson design. This was enlightening, as I felt that I had finally created a unified unit that also connected their learning to their personal life. Overall, I have put into practice many of the aspects I learned in this course creating a more productive learning environment for my students.

During 5389, I learned that professional development (PD) needs to change to professional learning (PL). The research has been available for decades, showing our current method of training teachers is not working. Over the years, I have complained that our PD lacks relevancy. During a conference I attended at NASA this February, I led a PL that was full of teachers ranging from primary school to the university level. I deployed the concepts I learned from this course, and found that my teachers were excited and most importantly they understood how to take the concepts back to class and use them.

Key Contributions 

During the course, I assisted fellow classmates in locating materials in each course, answering questions, sent reminders regarding meeting times and assignment due dates, as well as gave feed-forward on assignments.

Using the Whatsapp App we discussed the assignments, shared our e-portfolio, and made revisions based on group member comments. I have also revised my assignments based on my feedback from the professors. 

I ensured that all my work was properly cited in APA format and turned in early for my peers to review as per the course guidelines. 

Supporting Contributions

I was thoughtful in posts on the discussion boards and tried to post promptly during each unit.  I was reflective in my responses to peoples’ posts on the discussion boards and returned to see other peoples’ messages to my posts. I felt that this discussion was very useful in my learning process as I used their insight to self-reflect on my own personal learning. 

I maintained constant communication in my group to make sure that questions were answered quickly and encouragement was given often. 

I sent out reminders if none had been posted on days we had class or when assignments were due.