Mapping Our Journey

The Power of Yet

The power of the word “yet” has been a phrase that I have been living by since I became a teacher back in 2016. Every assignment and task I am assigned to teach my students do not always go as planned, but time helps. Over time I get better at teaching different concepts and subjects. Also as time proceeds, my students become better learners and more familiar with what they are learning. I always show the video above to my students a few times a year, because I believe that it motivates them to keep trying. Especially when they become frustrated like during testing season and the end of grading cycles.

I was formally introduced to the phrase “The Power of Yet” while watching Sesame Street with my daughter. Elmo had the popular artist Janelle Monae guest starring on the show and they all sang “The Power of Yet”. The video received positive feedback from millions including my daughter. Carol Dweck’s Ted Talks is where I was able to apply the concept to my educational journey. I have been reaching milestones in the DLL program and I have been accomplishing things that I never thought I could do. For example, drafting and creating blogs to publish in my eportfolio is something I never thought I could do. Now that I have gotten familiar with posting, I look forward to adding my thoughts and sharing them with the world. My digital footprint has become more visible since joining the program and it has truly expanded my thought process. I can now say that I have adopted a Growth mindset.

My plan is to teach my students how to adopt and appreciate a growth mindset. I believe the best way to implement this plan is through the active use of eportfolios. They are a huge part of my campus innovation plan. I want to bring eportfolios to my classroom. My students would benefit from them, because they are goal-driven, focused, and dedicated to their learning. I work at a very unique high school campus, where our focus is on graduating, job placements, and college readiness. Eportfolios will allow my students to take ownership of their own learning. We will also be able to measure our individual growth in my classroom. This semester I also learned about COVA and how it plays a role in the classroom. The acronym stands for (C), ownership (O), and voice (V) through authentic (A) learning opportunities and when these are being implemented in the classroom, students adopt principles that will help them gain success. Harapnuik stated, “when the COVA approach is combined with CSLE, you get a significant learning environment which takes into account all the key elements essential to effective active learning.” Creating a Significant Learning Environment and adding COVA to my classroom practices will help my students understand and utilize my plan.

Creating Significant Learning Environments

One of the most important ways to increase learning is to create significant learning environments. They help students engage and connect with the learning that is taking place in the classroom. In the article “It’s about Learning” by Harapnuik the Finks Taxonomy design and principles were discussed. This design includes many factors that help the classroom function as a successful learning environment. He said the classrooms must be, “Student-centered, Have Teaching roles, Ubiquitous Access & Social Networking, Instructional delivery formats – face2face, technology-enhanced, blended, online, Instructional Design, Assessment & Evaluation, Academic Quality & Standards, Support & Infrastructure.”

These factors will all be integrated into my innovation plan. My innovation plan, focuses on the benefits of eportfolios in the classroom. I want my students to create eportfolios to increase their college anddcareer readiness skills. I want to teach my students the importance of taking accountability and ownership of their own learning. Eportfolios will also allow them to self reflect on their growth and academic journeys. They will start appreciating the “Growth Mindset”. I also want to bring Finks Taxonomy design and the principles into my classroom in order to increase the effectiveness of my innovation plan. My classroom must be student centered with clear teaching roles. It is also mandatory that we are connecting and social networking with each other and other people outside of the classroom. We have already begun to stay connected by using My Twitter Account. On my educational twitter account, I stay involved and active in my Professional Learning Network’s. I also post, share and review successful lessons that were effective in my classroom. I enjoy collaborating and sharing content with my fellow educators on Twitter.

My BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) –

I always have to stay true to myself when it comes to being an educator. I take honor in teaching my students information that they will be able to take with them in the real world. This is based on my learning philosophy. Eportfolios will prepare my students for their future.

Learning Goals	Learning Activities	Assessment Activities
Foundational- Learners will adopt skills for college and career readiness by using e-portfolios to measure their growth.	1. Discussions about the benefits of eportfolios 2. Educating ourselves on the latest technology and applications 3. Identifying different colleges and careers that have advanced technology programs 4. Reviewing and analyzing eportfolios that students have completed in other districts.	1. Analyze and decide on different platforms we can create an eportfolio on 2. Gain knowledge on how to construct a proper eportfolio that will have the most individual gains.
Application- Learners will construct and create an actual eportfolio using one of the websites that fit our classroom the best.	1. Zoom meetings 2. Class discussions and polls 3. Small projects, group collaboration	1. Eportfolios 2. Peer Criticism 3. Collaborating with other classes and students
Integration- Learners will import classroom assignments onto their eportfolios.	1. Add writing samples 2.College essays 3. Virtual projects like Google slides and presentations.	1. Blogs posts 2. Reflections 3. Reviews
Human Dimensions/ Caring- Learners will measure their own individual growth through the use of eportfolios throughout the school year.	1. Monthly reviews 2. Rubrics 3.Compare and Contrast Activities 3. Self and Peer/Reviews	1. Commenting and collaborating on blogs posts 2. Reviewing past work and correcting mistakes and misconceptions 4. Updating work
Learning How to Learn- Students will be using the COVA approach and begin taking ownership of their own learning process. They will also find their own individual voice that they want the world to hear.	1. Blog Posts 2. Reading Responses 3. Collaborations 4. Projects and Videos	1.Seeing how others respond to the information they are sharing 2. Having a collection of their own work that they can use for future and past learning. 3. Obtaining and appreciating a “Growth mindset”

Although this plan will require hardwork and patience. I am 100% devoted to making these effective in my classroom. It may not happen quickly, but with time I believe it will work and be a huge benefit to my students.

“If you’ve Never Failed, You’ve Never Tried Anything New”

Successfully planning and executing my plan of eportfolios will be a task, but I feel like it will elevate my students and myself. We will all achieve growth through utilizing effective technology platforms. As a teacher my goal is to prepare students for success in the real world and in life. I will make sure that I am staying up to date in all the latest technology platforms. A few of the ones that I have already been using are Kami, Schoology, Google, Microsoft and many more. I have also been studying different methods to teach my students how to use these. The best way way to educate students on online platforms is by showing them and completing the tasks together. The major benefit of using Digital Technology in the classroom is the ability to have my face to face and virtual students complete assignments at the same time. This prevents students from getting behind on their studies, because we are all able to access everything we need with our preference of technology. Students can also have the choice to use the method of technology that they feel more comfortable with, whether it is a phone, laptop or tablet.

By creating eportfolios and being able to use advanced technology as a learning tool students will grow expeditiously. In a classroom setting, the teacher is usually the expert, data tracker, and grader. With teachers already having a multitude of tasks they are responsible for technology will make things easier. Students will take a larger role in their growth by being able to access their grades, assignments, and skills they are weak in.

Engagement

Increasing the use of technology and opportunities to help students adopt a growth mindset is an effective method to give students ownership and accountability of their learning. Technology will also spark engagement in the classroom. Engagement is they key to instilling interest and productivity in the lessons and content that is being taught.