Contribution to My Learning Community 5313 and 51389

Throughout this semester, I've learned a great deal in both 5313 and 5318. These courses have equipped me with essential skills for creating significant learning environments and developing effective PL. As I continue to build upon my innovation plan and ePortfolio, I am amazed at how much progress I see with only a few semesters behind me. This semester was particularly challenging as we begin the school year in August with significant new changes in my organization, but I was still able to attend most meetings. During these meetings and our collaborative discussions, I tried to assist others when they had questions about assignments and tried to give any tips that could help as many were new to the ADL program this semester. As this is my third semester in the ADL program, I tried to make myself someone that others could come to with any questions. I am very grateful to have met Paige Shaw early in this program since we have been able to assist each other, give feedback and continue to encourage each other throughout all assignments. This semester we also joined a Teams group where others posted tips they received and feedback for helping create the most effective ePortfolios. 

As we began the school year back in August, I utilized what I was experiencing in my organization to assist me in identifying and addressing the needs. The beginning of the year is full of PD, but as I experienced it, I was able to reflect and truly understand that something must change in order for PD to work. I also used the current programs to help me create my UbD and 3-column table assignments and tasks so they would be updated to the newest resources we have on campus. Being able to learn and participate in authentic learning experiences in this program has helped me in implementing some of my learning to my organization already as well. For example, we all know the beginning of the year is essential, so this year I began to introduce the growth mindset and the power of “yet” very early on. By doing this I am ensuring my students have a safe space to learn from mistakes and understand that these are not failures but learning experiences.   

This semester I do believe I was slightly better at posting and responding on time to our collaborative discussions, but I still feel this is an area of growth for me. I believe I can engage more in these discussions and truly get a conversation going in order to improve/address our learning. As a fairly new teacher, I am aware that I can learn countless numbers of things from the rest of the class. My goal for next semester will be to engage in these discussions more and look back at the comments left on my posts as well. 

What has continued to work for me throughout this program is truly taking a look at the feedback I receive on my assignments and making small changes that I believe could help me improve my innovation plan and ePortfolio. Furthermore, I was able to meet various deadlines for activities and assignments, and completed all of the readings and watched the videos provided to us. For the reasons stated above, my self-assessment grades are:

5313- 84

5389- 82