When I began my coursework at Michigan State, my goals in the program for my Masters of Arts in Education spoke of how I hoped to change as an educator upon graduating with a higher degree. While taking classes within the program, I hoped to continue my own education and to gain a better understanding about the teaching profession. In many ways, I set my sights on growing as an educator by learning more methods and practices that allowed me to be more effective as a teacher. After having just two years of teaching experience when I started the program, I looked forward to being a part of the Masters program, as it would allow me to further my career and gain more experience as a teacher. I also hoped that through this experience, I could one day be a mentor to new teachers.
As I’m nearing the end of my program, my current goals have become more precise as a result of my concentration in Literacy Education. With the knowledge I’ve gained through this program, I hope to now use strategies to better target to problem areas of literacy for my student. Through my coursework, I believe I now have a strong sense of the challenges students face in the areas of literacy as well as a knowledge of what is needed to help them overcome these obstacles. In addition, another one of my goals is to engage my students in creative approaches to learning. In my program, I have been introduced to new ideas and have been able to practice them myself. As my professors did for me, I hope to model these approaches and then allow my classroom to be a place that fosters creativity, inquiry, and exploration. A final goal going forward would be to challenge my students to think more critically about literature and to introduce them to a wide range of texts. Along with this, I hope to help my students find ways to connect literature to their lives and to see value in what literature can do.
When reflecting back on the goals I set before I started my program, I would say that I still hope for many of the same things. However, in looking at the two sets of goals, one of the changes I notice is that my goals now have become more specific. I feel as though I can now pinpoint exact ways I’d like to be a more effective teacher and how exactly I’d like to grow as an educator. The professors, courses, and coursework I encountered through my program inspired these changes in my goals. I looked to my professors as models for their creative approaches to education and engaged in thought-provoking and challenging coursework that would allow me to translate my new ideas into my own classroom. As my courses have focused on literacy growth and development, I now see this as an area of education that demands teachers’ attention. As I near the end of my program and have learned the significance of literacy education, my goals and my vision have shifted to make sure that developing literacy is treated with importance in my classroom each day.
Photo Credit: http://favim.com/image/30751/
As I’m nearing the end of my program, my current goals have become more precise as a result of my concentration in Literacy Education. With the knowledge I’ve gained through this program, I hope to now use strategies to better target to problem areas of literacy for my student. Through my coursework, I believe I now have a strong sense of the challenges students face in the areas of literacy as well as a knowledge of what is needed to help them overcome these obstacles. In addition, another one of my goals is to engage my students in creative approaches to learning. In my program, I have been introduced to new ideas and have been able to practice them myself. As my professors did for me, I hope to model these approaches and then allow my classroom to be a place that fosters creativity, inquiry, and exploration. A final goal going forward would be to challenge my students to think more critically about literature and to introduce them to a wide range of texts. Along with this, I hope to help my students find ways to connect literature to their lives and to see value in what literature can do.
When reflecting back on the goals I set before I started my program, I would say that I still hope for many of the same things. However, in looking at the two sets of goals, one of the changes I notice is that my goals now have become more specific. I feel as though I can now pinpoint exact ways I’d like to be a more effective teacher and how exactly I’d like to grow as an educator. The professors, courses, and coursework I encountered through my program inspired these changes in my goals. I looked to my professors as models for their creative approaches to education and engaged in thought-provoking and challenging coursework that would allow me to translate my new ideas into my own classroom. As my courses have focused on literacy growth and development, I now see this as an area of education that demands teachers’ attention. As I near the end of my program and have learned the significance of literacy education, my goals and my vision have shifted to make sure that developing literacy is treated with importance in my classroom each day.
Photo Credit: http://favim.com/image/30751/