Most anyone who resides in Michigan has enjoyed the relaxing experience of a road trip "up north." For me, up north means that we are driving anywhere north of Frankenmuth to experience something new or sometimes to even get a familiar taste of home. My favorite places in Michigan are located at the tip of the mitten, along the coast of Lake Michigan or Lake Huron. The great thing about a road trip is that it provides comfort and familiarity while you visit new places. One of the most treasured parts of these road trips for me is the time I get to stare out the window at the blur of trees passing by as we drive along I-75. Not only is the view out the window mesmerizing, the lack of responsibility to do anything but ponder life often provides me with an opportunity to reflect upon the past and dream about the future. In the summer of 2015 I was lucky enough to leave the mountains of Switzerland and spend a few weeks soaking up some sun and sand in Michigan and experience the simple pleasures of a road trip up north. We first drove to Hale to visit some great friends on Long Lake and then continued on to Mackinaw Island for some fun and fudge. It was a trip I will never forget because my parents, my husband and I had to take turns watching my son at the hotel beach after realizing he contracted chicken pox. Nevertheless, the trip was memorable and enjoyable but the car ride is what I really want to talk about. The ride to and from gave me plenty of time to stare out the window and ponder life and reflect on the most recent journey of mine, my master's journey. As I looked out the window of my parents' Chevy Equinox I reflected on this part of my learning journey and how it has changed me as a teacher, how it changed the way I view my students, how I grew along the way and how it confirmed within me that my students are what inspire me to be the best teacher I can be. I have learned so much over the past three years, it is difficult to pinpoint which courses, content or instructors affected my teaching the most, but I must say there are a few courses that particularly stand out in my mind, where I feel I did the most "growing" I could as a teacher and professional student. Those courses that stretched me the most are the ones that were outside of my comfort zone. I am a foreign language and English Language Arts teacher, so I do not particularly enjoy studying or teaching science, math and technology. Surprisingly though, these were the very courses in my master's program which challenged and inspired me the most. 
 
As I listened to the hum of the tires along the open road I realized, my master's journey was in many ways like one of my beloved road trips up north. Through the distance learning program I was able to study from the comfort of my own home as I traveled to different stops along the way to my learning destination.  I was able to experience something new, as I did in my math, science and technology courses, or even something familiar such as when I studied reading or writing instruction. The beginning of what I will call my master's road trip here began with some courses that were familiar to me but as I moved along the second half of my journey I found myself at new and interesting places. Please come along with me as I reminisce of these interesting stops along the road. 
 
My first stop will be at the mathematics grand junction. The course was called Teaching and Learning Mathematical Problem Solving and it introduced me not only to new and innovative ways of teaching mathematical problem solving skills to my students but showed how we, as educators, can inspire and motivate our students through discussions and lessons on how the brain grows and develops. I never thought that I would be discussing the brain and its functions during my math lessons but it proved to be an effective and encouraging portion of my students' learning. The concept is based on Carol Dweck's mindset research on how student motivation and their self-concept can be strengthened through changing their mindset about their academic abilities. I was surprised that this was the first portion of a course about mathematical problem solving but through the course readings and discussions I saw how important it can be for young children. If children have a fixed mindset it is more challenging for them to overcome obstacles in their learning journey but if they learn about brain growth and understand how they can make their brain grow, they can change their mindset and develop an attitude of perseverance and become risk takers. I took this new knowledge into my classroom for the first project of this course. I began teaching brain growth to my students as first graders and they showed a variety of mindsets about their mathematical knowledge but through the brain growth lessons they became more aware of how they could expand their thinking in order to face learning challenges head on. We talked about the different parts of the brain and their functions and they created a weekly brain growth plan which focused on accomplishing a set list of activities that would challenge their brain in order to make it grow. Now my students are in second grade and continue to comment on and refer to their knowledge of brain growth when faced with new challenges. This topic is extremely important to introduce to young children who think they are not talented in mathematics, because many children believe they are born with a talent for math or they are not. This knowledge on brain growth directly affected my instruction and my students' problem solving skills. I knew I had to make it a regular habit to refer to brain growth mindsets during instruction and activities in order for my students to develop an attitude of perseverance and understand that with a bit of hard work they could all be great at math.
 
The second project for this course was to develop a lesson sequence which would teach new problem solving skills based on Max Ray-Riek's book Powerful Problem Solving: Activities for Sense Making with the Mathematical Practices. What I most enjoyed about this book were the resources and the manner in which Max Ray-Riek uses the activities with students. Instead of just standing in front of a class and making students memorize facts, his method is to teach students to be observant, critical thinkers that can break word problems and equations down in order to figure out what information they would need to solve the problems. At first the students just look at the problem to figure out what information they have and what the problem is asking them to do. The students do not even need to solve the problem, the pressure is off and they get to merely dissect mathematical word problems. I started using many of the word problems from the website connected to his book and my students loved finding new and creative ways to solve the problems. They actually became quite confident in their problem solving skills and enjoyed showing off their skills to their peers. What I truly appreciated about this course was that my learning did not just transfer into some "thing" new for my students to learn but it offered a new way for them to learn and understand how they learn.
 
The next stop on this road trip will bring us to the origin of the universe and the ends of the Earth. The course was titled Inquiry and the Nature of Science, and it made me grow professionally. It brought me back in time as it made me ponder the creation of the universe and then propelled me forward into the present and future as we examined current issues plaguing our Earth such as climate change. This course opened up my eyes to the world of science and the scientific process. One of the first activities was to interview a scientist or an engineer and I chose to interview my husband. I learned so many interesting things about my husband's career that I would not have known if I were not encouraged to ask some specific questions. I did not really think of him as one who would use so many scientific practices on a daily basis, and I think he did not even realize how much "science" was involved in his position as a design engineer. We then looked at science across cultures and genders and how it influenced our world. Did you know that the first computer programmers were female? I also looked at some enlightening videos by National Geographic which I probably would have never seen if it had not been for this course. I was completely fascinated by one particular documentary about the importance of top predators in the life cycle of our environment. I feel as though this course truly exposed me to a world of science that I was previously unwilling to visit. What really stretched me as a learner during this course was the fact that I had to create and maintain my own blog. This was a huge leap for me because, as I mentioned previously, technology is not my cup of tea. Once I began blogging though I really enjoyed it. I have not written on my blog since this course but I would like to start again once my master's studies are complete, perhaps even to write some poetry or to reflect on my future learning.
 
The last stop along this road trip is increasingly familiar to our current world citizens, the highway of technology. We find ourselves connected or switched on (technologically speaking) almost twenty four hours a day now. As I got into my parents' new Chevy Equinox for our trip up north my lovely mother informed me, "Meg, this car has WiFi." My jaw dropped and I thought to myself, is there going to be any place left in this world that modern technology cannot reach? Technology Integration and 21st Century Learning were two major focuses of the course I took called Teaching Understanding with Technology. I witnessed my mother, a product of the 50's, using her 21st century skills to pair her phone with the car in order to use blue tooth. Life has changed so drastically since my childhood. Learning how to function and become familiar with these tools can be a bit of a challenge for some people who did not grow up with the technology we are so familiar with today. This course taught me the importance of using modern tech in the classroom in order to give my students the skills they will need to succeed in a world where our technology is constantly evolving. Surprisingly, through this course I learned how to draw portraits using charcoal. We used YouTube tutorials and online help forums to pick up a new skill without consulting a professional face to face. I was shocked after this project was over because I actually was able to draw my son's portrait. I learned a new skill for free, online. Accessing and evaluating knowledge online became an important part of my classroom instruction. I realized how valuable the resources could be but also that my students needed to learn how to find the best resources for their learning. I introduced my students to new web based applications and games during ICT class and watched them play, grow and learn. Every time I introduce a new application they ask me, "when do we get to do this again?" What a rewarding comment to hear as a teacher. I know my students will have the skills and drive needed to succeed in the future.
 
I would like to stop the car here and thank you for joining me for my metaphorical master's road trip. It was a trip that impacted me greatly and will live in my memory for years to come. I learned, I grew and learned some more. What I most appreciate about my master's program is how it has impacted my understanding of how we learn and this in turn has affected my instructional methods in the classroom. In each course we were offered an opportunity to learn new content, respond to it and the learn from our mistakes. I was always given an opportunity to improve upon my work or fix my errors, and I think this is where the real learning takes place. After experiencing this first hand I realize how beneficial such a practice can be for my students. I no longer look at their "products" as finished but as "in progress." My young learners will always have an opportunity in my classroom to learn from their mistakes, grow from learning experiences and improve their skills. This master's program has been a great adventure for me, I know this is not the last stop in my learning journey but I am happy to be able to stop and enjoy this moment. I am looking out the window feeling satisfied and encouraged, it was a nice ride.