Professional Development
My short-term goals are to complete my Master's Degree in Instructional Technology and to continue networking with other teachers and professionals in my field. The IT program has increased my desire to design meaningful lessons and utilize current technologies in my classroom. As a result, in the 2010 - 2011 school year a few of my fellow teachers and I created a group that met after school to discuss teaching, instructional methods and technology. As a group or individually we discussed what we were doing in our classrooms, what we wanted to do in our classrooms, and how we could design meaningful lessons that included technology. I really enjoyed learning about various technologies, collaborating with colleagues, and having people that I could bounce ideas around. This collaboration has contributed to me trying new ideas in my classroom. This school year, 2012 - 2013, we are going to continue to meet, discuss, and learn and we hope to add new members to our group.
This year the school that I teach at is allowing students to bring their own devices (BYOD) to school. By allowing the students to bring and use their own technology, this allows me to design more lessons that will utilize the technology they bring. I plan to "flip" my classroom. I would like to include vodcasts (small video lectures) for my students as their homework. "Flipping" will allow me to spend more time helping my students learn during class time. Also, it will allow more time for in-class laboratory experiments, research, inquiry, and project-based learning while being able to use various technologies. In the next few years, I would like to flip my class as well as add in a mastery component to my lessons. I feel that both flipping and mastery will help my students to learn more and learn with a deeper understanding. My plan is to flip my Chemistry I class this year and work on Chemistry II and Biology the next year. All in all, I see it taking at least three years before I feel that I am competent teaching a flipped classroom with mastery.
Long-Term Goals:
My long-term goals are to continue to grow professionally by keeping up with new technologies and learning how to integrate them successfully in my classroom, as well as continue to learn and grow with my study of chemistry. I continually take classes to better myself as a teacher and professional and to learn how to make my classroom and lessons more productive and successful for my students. After completing my Master's degree, I will take more classes at SIUE through the chemistry department to further my understanding of chemistry. I would eventually like to have at least 24+ hours in chemistry beyond my Master's degree. I will also continue to seek out and attend professional conferences that relate to instructional design and technology. I see myself taking more online conferences in the future, because they are convenient as well as cost effective. I will continue to learn about ways in which I can design and teach effective lessons and collaborate with others by continuing my membership with professional and social networks; such as the Flipped Class Network, Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education, American Chemical Society, and the International Society for Technology in Education. I have always been a life-long learner, so I plan on continuing to learn and become a better teacher and instructional technologist.
