ETEC 533- Sharing & Reflecting: An Enriching Learning Experience
In a few of my MET courses, I felt more like an island than a member of a community of learners. In these courses that I am thinking of, I knew what was expected of me in regard to weekly participation and the various assignments that needed to be completed, but I did not necessarily feel connected to most of my classmates. Sometimes it felt like my entire focus was on working through my big ‘to do’ list to successfully get through the course. In ETEC 533, I did not feel rushed with any of the course timelines. I felt that we were given a generous amount of time to complete our projects in and the continuous support that we received from the instructor and our peers made the pathway to completion a very positive one. In some courses, major projects were submitted to the instructor and the instructor alone. Unless someone connected with you directly to seek feedback, you often did not see what your classmates were up to at all. Looking back on my MET experiences, I think that some of my most influential learning moments were those that I spent viewing and discussing the work of my classmates.
I really appreciated and valued the time that we were given in this course to view all of the group presentations. We were accountable to actually view and then deeply reflect on the impact that each project had on us (if any) because there was a formal assignment paired with this activity. There was really a triad of learning here for me: 1.) the projects themselves were incredibly valuable, 2.) the discussion threads dedicated to the discourse surrounding each of the group projects was a place full of rich conversations and learning extensions, and 3.) the accompanying reflective assignment and the generous time frame given to complete it, really allowed me a unique opportunity to immerse myself in the work of my peers. I think that the learning that comes out of this type of sharing and discourse is just as important as the outcomes covered by the course content. When we, the students, submit our projects to the instructor alone, these shared learning opportunities are missed entirely. This experience has served to remind me of the benefits in providing my own students with opportunities to both produce and share their projects with their peers.
I have included this assignment as an artifact of my learning mainly to act as a reminder for me personally. Due to the pressure that I feel as an educator to get through the curriculum, I often get caught up in the rush to just get to what is next. With the knowledge that I have gained in the MET program, combined with the changes that have been made in the new B.C. curriculum, I am hopeful that I will have the freedom to take the time to build in these sharing and reflection components within my units of study in the future. By taking advantage of technology aided sharing opportunities, I think that this a realistic next step for me to take with my students.
Below, I have included my Theoretical Reflection paper which was based on the group presentations that were referred to here. As I would like to be able to access these student built resources in the future, I have embedded the various group presentations here as well. I have also included them in my ETEC 533 blog. Please note: One of the pitfalls of online publications is broken links and videos that are no longer uploaded to the source. Sadly, one of the group projects (Meeting the Needs of Math and Science Learners for the 21st Century) from this course is no longer accessible.
I really appreciated and valued the time that we were given in this course to view all of the group presentations. We were accountable to actually view and then deeply reflect on the impact that each project had on us (if any) because there was a formal assignment paired with this activity. There was really a triad of learning here for me: 1.) the projects themselves were incredibly valuable, 2.) the discussion threads dedicated to the discourse surrounding each of the group projects was a place full of rich conversations and learning extensions, and 3.) the accompanying reflective assignment and the generous time frame given to complete it, really allowed me a unique opportunity to immerse myself in the work of my peers. I think that the learning that comes out of this type of sharing and discourse is just as important as the outcomes covered by the course content. When we, the students, submit our projects to the instructor alone, these shared learning opportunities are missed entirely. This experience has served to remind me of the benefits in providing my own students with opportunities to both produce and share their projects with their peers.
I have included this assignment as an artifact of my learning mainly to act as a reminder for me personally. Due to the pressure that I feel as an educator to get through the curriculum, I often get caught up in the rush to just get to what is next. With the knowledge that I have gained in the MET program, combined with the changes that have been made in the new B.C. curriculum, I am hopeful that I will have the freedom to take the time to build in these sharing and reflection components within my units of study in the future. By taking advantage of technology aided sharing opportunities, I think that this a realistic next step for me to take with my students.
Below, I have included my Theoretical Reflection paper which was based on the group presentations that were referred to here. As I would like to be able to access these student built resources in the future, I have embedded the various group presentations here as well. I have also included them in my ETEC 533 blog. Please note: One of the pitfalls of online publications is broken links and videos that are no longer uploaded to the source. Sadly, one of the group projects (Meeting the Needs of Math and Science Learners for the 21st Century) from this course is no longer accessible.
etec_533-module_a-reflection.pdf | |
File Size: | 111 kb |
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