Running head: PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL PHILOSOPHY

PersonalProfessionalPhilosophyofTeaching,Learning,andTechnology
KelliHarewood
UniversityofLasVegas,Nevada

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PersonalProfessionalPhilosophyofTeaching,Learning,andTechnology
WhenIfirststartedmydegree,Ibelievedthattechnologywasanobviousremedyfor
manyoftheproblemsplaguingtheeducationsystem,butaftertwoyearsofacademicstudy,I
nowknowthatanysolutiontoaproblemisnotquitethatsimple.Ihaveexperiencedashiftin
mybelieffromtechnologybeingasolutiontotechnologybeinganeffectivemedium,resource,
andtoolforlearningwhenitisusedeffectively.Ibelievethataclassroomshouldbestudent
centeredwithdirectionprovidedbytheteacherandsupportprovidedthroughtechnology;
furthermore,studentsareincontroloftheirlearning,butneedguidancefromteacherswho
utilizepedagogicallysoundinstructionandprovidetechnologyintegrationeffectivelytomeet
contentobjectives.
TeachingPhilosophy
Teachingisaverychallengingcareerbecauseeducatorsareconstantlyexpectedto
changeandgrowwithaneverchangingstudentpopulation.Becauseofthisconstantebband
flowineducation,teachersarealwayslookingfornewstrategiesandtechniquestobringintothe
classroom,butifthesenewstrategiesandtechniquesarenotrootedinsoundpedagogy,theywill
beineffective.Thisiswhycreatingastudentcenteredclassroomisimportanttome.Ihave
foundthatregularlyimplementingprojectbasedlearningwithinmyclassroomisaneffective
waytoencourageselfdirectedlearning.Studentswhoactivelyparticipateinprojectbased
learningaremotivatedtolearn(Bradford,2005).Thisallowsmetolaythefoundationfora
classroomenvironmentthatembracesintrinsicmotivation,creativethinking,successes,and
failures.Studentsareencouragedtogooutandfindwaystosolveproblems,becomeinnovative

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learners,celebratetheirsuccesses,andtakerisksbecausefailureisnotabadthing;itisjust
anotheropportunitytolearn.
Projectbasedlearning,traditionalinstruction,andtechnologyintegratedinstructionare
moreeffectivewhenpairedwithmetacognitivethinkingactivities.Itisimportantthatstudents
havetheopportunitytomakeassociationsbetweenthecontenttheyarelearningandrealworld
connections.Whenstudentsstartthinkingabouttheirthinking,thinkingabouttheirlearning
strategies,andthinkingaboutthewaythattheyapproachlearning,theybecomeskilledlearners
abletoidentifyobstaclestolearningeasilyandchangestrategiestoensuregoalattainment
(Okoza,Aluede,&OwensSogolo,2013,pp.8586).
LearningPhilosophy
Allstudentshavetherighttoanexcellenteducationthatpreparesthemtobeproductive
adultsinsociety.Schoolsmustprovidestudentswiththeopportunitiesneededtoproperly
preparethemtobecomeproductiveadults.Whenopportunitiesareprovided,itisuptothe
learnertotakeholdofthemandcarryon.Studentcenterededucationprovideslearnerswith
scaffoldededucationalexperiencesthatwillmeettheiruniqueneeds.Itisessentialthatstudents
beprovidedwithscaffoldedlearningexperiencesthatofferampletimeforschematodevelop
becausethebuildingofincreasingnumbersofevermorecomplexschemasbycombining
elementsconsistingoflowerlevelschemasintohigherlevelschemasiswhenstudentsgain
skills(Sweller,vanMerrinboer,&Paas,1998,p.255).
Establishingtechnologyasaresource,tool,andmediumisvitaltostudentunderstanding
astowhyandhowtechnologycanbeusedtomeetthecontentcurriculumgoals.When
integratingtechnologyintotheclassroom,itisimportanttorememberthattechnologydoesnot

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driveinstruction:instructionandpedagogydrivethewaythattechnologyisintegrated
(Schrader,2008,p.469).InmyEnglishLanguageArtsclassroom,technologywillbelooked
uponasanotherresourcethatcanmakeapositiveimpactinlearning.Aftertheintegrationofa
specifictechnologyintheclassroom,studentsareencouragedtometacognitivelyreflectupon
whytheyappliedsaidtechnologyandhowitcanhelpthemwithfutureendeavorsbecause
knowledgeanduseofmetacognitiveawarenessenhancesacademiclearning(Okozaetal.,2013).
TechnologyIntegrationPhilosophy
Itisimpossibletoignorethefactthattechnologypermeateseverypartofmodernlife.It
isunacceptableforeducatorstoignoretheneedfortechnologytobeintegratedintothe
classroom.Thejobofaneducatoristopreparestudentstobecomeproductiveadultsinsociety,
whichmeansthatstudentsneedtounderstandhowtechnologycanbeusedtomeettheirneeds
withinandoutsideoftheeducationalsetting.
Ifindthatmostofmystudentsembracetechnology,butteachingataTitleOneschool
meansthatsomeofmystudentshavealimitedbackgroundintechnology.Althoughtechnology
canbeaneffectivetoolfordisseminatinginformation,assessingstudents,andprovidingunique
learningexperiences,itcanalsobehurdleforstudentswhodonothavestrongtechnology
backgrounds(Feldon,2010).Becauseofthis,itisnecessarytoensurethatlessonsandactivities
thatutilizetechnologyarescaffoldedappropriatelyforallstudents,includingthosewithlimited
technologyskills.Alongwithscaffoldingcontentareaskills,Ialsoneedtoscaffoldtechnology
skillstodecreasethecognitiveloadthatinexperiencedtechnologyuserswillexperience.Itmay
bebettertoonlyincludethetechnologystepsnecessarytocompleteatask,sothatthecognitive
loadoflearninganewtechnologywillbeminimal(vanMerriboer&Ayers,2005).Itis

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importantthatIintegratetechnologywithoutoverloadingthestudentsandthussupporting
effectivelearningwithmoderncomputertechnologies(Schoor,Bannert,&Brunken,2012,p.
767).

CurrentEfforts
Technologyintegrationisnotnewtome.Ihavebeenimplementingtechnologywithin
myclassroomforyears.ThedifferencenowisthatInolongerlettechnologydriveinstruction
andlearning;contentstandardsandpedagogydothatnow.Constantchangesintechnology
requiremetocontinuouslyreflectonwhatistaught,howitistaught,andhowstudentsare
assessed(NationalResearchCouncil,2000,p.153).Ihavebecomebetteratscaffolding
technologybasedinstructiontoavoidcognitiveload.Iamalsoworkingonprovidingbetter
guidanceandinstructionintherealmoftechnologytohelppreventstudentsfrommovingover
informationquicklywithouthavingthecognitiveabilitytoprocessiteffectively(Kirschner&
vanMerrinboer,2013,p.171).Thisisaconstantstrugglesincesomethingisalwayshappening
ontechnologybasedplatforms,andmystudentscangeteasilydistractedbyinformationand
technologyoverload,makingitdifficulttofocusonthelearningtaskathand.
GoogleClassroom:TheIntroductoryPhase
ThisyearIamutilizingthevirtualonlinelearningcommunityGoogleClassroom.WhenI
firstmadethismove,IbeganusingGoogleClassroomforcommunicationbypostingclass
announcements,providingonelocationtoaccessclassnotes,sharingadditionalresourcesto
supportcontentgoals,andbeingabletoeasilysendoutemails.Itwasaplaceformetoremind

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studentsaboutupcomingactivitiesandprojects,aplacetoprovideareviewoftheday,anda
placeforstudentstopostquestionsandcommentstotheclass;although,thatrarelyhappened.It
didnottakelongbeforeIstartedlookingforotherwaysthatGoogleClassroomcouldsupport
learningformystudents.

GoogleClassroom:TheIntermediatePhase
ThenextphaseofmyGoogleClassroomprogressionwastoincludeassignmentsfor
studentstocomplete.Atfirst,IrealizedmanyoftheactivitiesthatIassignedwerereallynotthat
differentfromtheirpenandpapercounterparts,soIhadtorethinkhowIwasutilizingthe
assignmentfeatureinGoogleClassroom.AlthoughIonlyintendedforthisvirtuallearning
communitytobeusedasaresourceforestablishedcoursecontent,itreallywasnotfeelinglike
muchofacommunity,soIstartedtochangetheapproachofmyassignments.Studentsbeganto
worktogethermorethroughtheuseofGoogleDocs,allowingthemtoshareonedocumentand
workonitinrealtimefromdifferentdevices.Thishasbecomeanexcellentopportunityfor
collaborationinsideandoutsideoftheclassroomwalls.Ihavesinceutilizedthisfeaturefora
PBLprojectandresearchpaperpeerreviewactivities.Withtheintegrationofthesefeatures,my
classeswerefinallystartingtofeellikeavirtuallearningcommunity.
GoogleClassroom:BuildingaCommunity
Althoughstudentswereworkingtogetherinpartnershipandinsmallgroupings,wewere
stillmissingthatwholeclasscommunityfeel.Recently,Idecidedtomovemydailyclosure
activitytoGoogleClassroom.BetweenstudentcellphonesandtheclassiPadsstudentswereable

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toposttheirclosureactivityresponsestoGoogleClassroom,providinganopportunityfor
everyonetoparticipateinaformofdiscussion.Thisalsoprovidedmewithanorganizedwayto
assessdailyunderstandingofcourseobjectives.UtilizingGoogleClassroominthiswayhas
madeitamoreeffectivecommunicationtool,andafewstudentshaveevenstartedcommenting
onotherstudentsposts.Thisvirtualcommunityhasfinallysproutingwings,anditisnowtime
tofly.

MyFutureVision
Myfuturevisionfortechnologyintegrationisforstudentstobecomemoreselfdriven
andtoutilizetechnologywhenevertheydeemitnecessaryforlearning.Itisimportanttogive
learnerssomecontrolovertheireducation,butIhavetobecarefulnottoprovidetoomany
optionsbecausethatcanbediscouraging(Kirschner&vanMerrinboer,2013).Through
scaffolding,pedagogicalteachingpractices,avoidanceofaheavycognitiveworkload,anduse
ofmetacognitivereflection,studentswillbeabletoeffectivelyusetechnologyindependently,
notneedingadditionalpromptingfromme.

OnewaythatIamhopingtoseethisselfdrivenlearninghappeniswhenstudentschoose

toparticipateinonlineclasschatgroups,notbecauseitisarequiredassignment,butbecause
theywanttolearnfromeachother,sharetheirownideasandinsights,andseevalueinthe
experience.ThesecondareawhereIwouldliketoseethishappenisthroughmetacognitive
reflectionwithinthelearner.Iwantstudentstoreachapointintheireducationwheretheyareno
longertoldwhichtechnologytousetomeettheirlearningneeds.Iwantthemtobeableto
recognizewhenitisappropriatetouseGoogle,MicrosoftOffice,socialnetworking,oranyother

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technologybasedresourceavailable.Thiswillcomethroughmetacognition;furthermore,
classroomsthatencouragemetacognitionprovidestudentswithresourcestoassistfuture
problemsolving.Studentswhothinkabouttheirlearninghaveagreatercapacitytotransfer
theirlearningtonewproblemsandcontexts,preparingthemforaworldoutsideofeducation
(Wilson&Peterson,2006,p.6).
Inthefuture,Iwouldliketoseemyestablishedvirtuallearningcommunitygrowinto
onewithopendiscussionflowingthroughouttheday.Iamplanningonimplementingmore
computermediatedcommunicationthroughGoogleClassroominthenearfuture,butmyhopeis
tomovetoTwitterforadditionaldiscussionsaboutcoursecontent.Iwouldliketomodelthese
futurediscussionsafterthestructuredTwitterdiscussionformatsusedbyNevadaEdChatand
TedEdChatwhereamoderatorposesafewquestionsthatarediscussedduringaonehour
period.Inorderforthiscomputermediatedcommunicationtobesuccessfulandincreasestudent
motivation,Iwillneedtoaddressthethingsthatcaninfluencecomputermediated
communication:themedium,thesocialpresence,theamountofstudentandinstructoreffort
involvedinclassroominteraction,thestudentsidentityasamemberoftheclass,andthe
relationshipsdeveloped(Sherblom,2010,p.497).Oncetheseareaddressed,mystudentswill
beontheirwaytohavingandmaintainingclassdiscussionswhenitisconvenientorwhenthey
deemitnecessary.
Conclusion
Theonethingthathasnotchangedwithinmyeducationalphilosophyisthatsound
pedagogyandeffectiveinstructionaretwoofthemostimportantaspectsofstudentlearning
withinaclassroom.Mygoalisandwillalwaysbetoeducatestudentsusingthebestteaching

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methodsthatIcan.Becausetheclassroomofthefutureisonlyworthcreatingifitsupportsthe
fundamentalmissionofteachingstudents,itisessentialthattechnologynotbecomethedriver
oflearningwithinmyclassroom(Thompson,2014,p.22).Itisanimportantingredientinhelping
treatastrugglingeducationsystem,buttheremedytofixastrugglingsystemremainsthesame:
providestudentswithaneducationrootedinpedagogicalpracticesandeffectiveinstructional
methods.

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