DISCOVER
INTEGRATE
CREATE
Future Learning Goals
As an educator I am constantly learning and growing. This essay outlines the professional learning goals I set for myself throughout the journey of my master’s program. While I have met and am in the process of meeting these goals, I still take the time to reflect upon what I would like to do as I come to the end of my master’s program. I have found three areas which stand out for me as paths of future learning and growth.
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Master the mathematics curriculum I teach and become an advocate for my students’ learning.
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Integrate technology into my teaching practices.
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Pursue a Doctorate’s Degree in Education.
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These three areas will help me to become a better learner, educator and advocate for my students. These paths will help to continue my life-long learning process.
Master the mathematics curriculum I teach and become an advocate for my students’ learning
Throughout my master’s degree education in mathematics and science I took the time to reflect on my passion and understanding. As I learned about best practices in mathematics and had the opportunity to complete research about these ideas, I began to gain a deeper love for the subject. I am excited to say that next school year I will be a full-time mathematics educator for 6th and 7th grade students. With this new position, it is my goal to master the content and curriculum that I have to teach them. I will utilize the Common Core State Standards and my district’s curriculum guides (6th and 7th grade) to help me achieve these initial goals. I plan on attending the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM) Conference annually to learn about best practices in mathematics and how to increase learning and engagement among my students. I believe that these initial steps will help me to become a better advocate for my students. In the future I hope to be a part of the mathematics curriculum planning team in my district to share my passion and knowledge with others.
Integrate technology into my teaching practices
This program has pushed me not only in my understanding of mathematics and science education, but with technology too. Each class I have taken has utilized some new form of technology in order to help me to connect, collaborate and reflect with others. My goal is to take what I have learned and make that an integral part of my classroom. Twitter, blogging and web design are three new medias that stand out as areas of improvement for me. I would like to create a classroom website that serves my students. I want an area where they can find resources and materials to guide their learning. I would like to start a classroom blog to provide an opportunity for my students to reflect upon their learning and growth in the classroom. Lastly, I would like to create a classroom twitter page for the students to use as a way to connect and collaborate outside of school. I think this resource will help students to offer help and seek new ideas from their classmates. To accomplish these goals, and to keep up on the newest and latest technologies I plan on attending the yearly International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. This will help me to stay current and up to date with educational technologies. I also plan on using the ISTE Standards for Educators and the ISTE Standards for Students in my classroom. Utilizing these will help to ensure that I am teaching to the 21st century learners in my classroom.
Pursue a Doctorate’s Degree in Education
Education is always something that I have enjoyed. I find happiness in knowing that I can always learn and improve, and I love sharing this with my students. As I further my education I delve into deeper understanding of content knowledge and application. I am able to better understand that of what I teach and how to teach it. A goal of mine has always been to teach at the collegiate level one day. My passion for mathematics drives my goal to get my doctorates degree. I am currently looking at Michigan State University’s Doctoral Program for Education. While this goal may not happen right away, I am on the path to finding the program for me. I am excited to continue my life-long learning process as an educator.