MEGAN SUTHERLAND
N E X T
S T E P S
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My master's journey came to a close and I cannot help but think, what will be the next step in my learning journey? The MAED courses certainly provided me with food for future thoughts. The courses I took most recently focused greatly on 21st century learning skills. This topic is rather new to me and in order to more thoroughly understand it I know that further study is required. I chose the topics I believe will benefit all of my students, present and future. The three topics of study I hope will be the next steps of my learning journey are: multimodal writing, STEM in the kindergarten classroom, and literacy development.
Multimodal writing in a 21st century classroom is a popular topic these days. Through technology development and educational research we are becoming more aware of the various ways in which students can develop their writing skills in new and effective ways. Besides pencil and paper, what are some tools our students can use for writing activities? What are the most effective technology tools to support our students' learning? Which tools are the most developmentally appropriate for my students' age group? These are a few questions I have in regards to this topic and I hope to find some answers through participation in an on demand Web Seminar offered by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The seminar is titled Everything Old is New Again: Using 21st Century Literacies to Engage All Learners. The increase of technology in students' private and classroom lives has put a demand on teachers to become more fluent in new technologies and their usage for creating effective and relevant lesson plans in all subjects. In order for me to prepare my students for a life in the 21st century I must think about how to not only better integrate technology in my lessons but also help them become more fluent in the 21st century literacies.
STEM is a topic that goes hand in hand with 21st century learning. I would like to research new ways to incorporate STEM subjects in my classroom. One way that I have found to include Science and Engineering in kindergarten is learning through the environment. Children love being outside, making discoveries and constructing in nature; It provides a sensory experience for young children and inspires deeper learning and connections. Nature pre-schools are a new trend in the U.S. (see link)and I would like to gain more information and insight as to how they function as an institution and what benefits they offer to student learning and growth. Although I would like to increase the time my students get to spend learning through nature, I am also realistic and understand that this is not possible during all instructional hours. I am also aware of the curriculum standards that cannot all be met through learning in our local environment. I found an article, Stem in the Early Years by Lilian G. Katz, which explores academic and intellectual goals and their implications for early childhood teaching instruction. Katz also explores the possible benefits of project based learning for meeting STEM goals in the early years. Another resources is a study conducted by the National Research Council, SUCCESSFUL K-12 STEM EDUCATION: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The National Academic Press offers this study as a free download at this site.
Lastly, an aspiration of mine is to continue my studies in finding and implementing the most effective approaches for literacy development. No one can deny the importance of literacy development. I find it to be one of the most important aspects of early education because it literally builds the foundation for future learning and acquisition of knowledge. I have found two Web Seminars I would like to attend offered by NCTE. The first is titled Using Popular Culture & The Media to Teach 21st Century Media Literacy Skills. If I can better understand 21st century literacy skills and how to use them most effectively with my students I can better prepare my students for the 21st century work force. The second Web Seminar is titled A Predictable Framework for Genre Study in the Writing Workshop. In my research, I found the Writer's Workshop to be the most effective and popular method of writing instruction for young learners, but it is often centered solely around narrative writing. This workshop would hopefully offer ideas and insights as to how to expand student writing through studying different genres.
My hope is that through my continuing education I will be able to make informed decisions when developing lesson plans for my students. My students deserve the best and I will aspire to give them all they need for a complete early learning experience. The next steps of my learning journey will be interesting, informative and hopefully effective to reach my students' needs.