Personal Teaching Statement
- Maggie Donohoe
- Apr 22, 2018
- 5 min read
Technology has the ability to change lives. It gives low-income students a digital passport to anywhere in the world, tools to create new ideas, and is capable of transforming our instruction in the classroom. Because we live in a 21st century world, our teaching methods have to reflect this change. We can no longer rely on printed materials to base our curriculum off of. Much of what we teach today will already be out of date in 3 to 5 years. We have to prepare our students to fit into a global society and collaborate with others like them across the globe. Our students must have the opportunity to go on digital journey's throughout the world. As teachers, it is our responsibility to navigate our students through the often tumultuous world of technology. We have a responsibility as educators to expose our students to the amazing tools technology has to offer and to provide them with the skills to use them correctly. Many school districts do an excellent job at providing technology, but forget to provide teachers with the knowledge on how to use it correctly. “Part of the problem, we argue, has been a tendency to only look at the technology and not how it is used. Merely introducing technology to the educational process is not enough. The question of what teachers need to know in order to appropriately incorporate technology into their teaching has received a great deal of attention recently (International Society for Technology in Education, 2000; National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 1997; U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, 1995; U.S. Department of Education, 2000; Zhao, 2003).
It has become clear, however, that our primary focus should be on studying how the technology is used (Carr, Jonassen, Litzinger, & Marra, 1998; Mishra & Koehler, 2003).” There is a paradigm shift occurring in education and it has been happening since the beginning of the 21st century, or 15 years ago. School districts and state curriculum makers are slowly turning away from worksheets and workbook assignments. Instead, they have seen the necessity for teaching our students 21st century learning skills: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, innovation and problem solving. I have shifted my focus to this theory in my classroom the past 5 years. 21st century skills are preparing our students to think and thrive in an advanced society. Students who are graduating today not only have to compete with each other for jobs, but with students around the world. STEM professions (science, technology, engineering and math) are the fastest growing and most competitive jobs in the marketplace today. We must use technology as our primary tool to meet the goals of a 21st century learner. I also believe that in order for technology integration to work successfully, teachers are going to step away from their role as the primary lecturer. Instead, I would like to show my teachers a theory that I believe is the most productive in the classroom. Since I became a teacher 10 years ago, I have used the theory of constructivism. With this teaching theory, the students are required to gather knowledge on their own terms, rather than have it given to them by the teacher in lecture format. The teacher still has to provide guidance and encourage higher order thinking, but the actual work comes from the students. Technology plays a big role in this theory because it allows for students to be independent in their thinking. The use of a computer engenders critical thinking by requiring students to use multiple parts of their brain at the same time. They are required to not only know how to use the computer but also use their skills to find, or create the information they are looking for. One assignment that stands out to me was a project that my fourth grade students worked on during my second year of teaching. They had to research a historical figure and come up with a unique way of presenting their information. The students went above and beyond my expectations- some of them created movies, others created an animated short story and some made an interactive power point. My instructions at the beginning of the assignment were very basic, which proved to me that my students were more than capable of using technology in a real and meaningful way. Many of them didn’t know how to use certain tools but what I was most impressed with was how all of my students worked together to teach one another. I really saw the theories of constructivism and 21st Century skills in action and it was a wonderful thing to witness. I knew right at that moment what this was the direction I wanted to head in. Through my teaching methods, I also wanted to inspire my co-workers to teach the same manner. My goal back then, as well as today, is for each school I teach in to provide rich instruction that embodies the theories of constructivism and 21st century learning. I hope that one day my school will be at the forefront of modern teaching practices. Students will create amazing, real-world projects that they have collaborated on with each other as well as with others across the globe and will become innovators of new ideas. There is an assumption that technology will somehow replace what teachers do best in the next 10 years. The argument is that if technology provides rich instruction, why is it necessary to have a teacher in the room? I think of technology as an artist's palate: it has the capability of producing a masterpiece, but you have to be taught the basics before achieving that level of success. It is the same with technology. Teachers have to play an active role in technology integration so they can guide their students in the right direction. Essential questions must be asked to stimulate critical thinking. Group collaboration and innovation must be present to solve real-world problems. All of these are components of rich, student-driven instruction that can be achieved through the use of technology. Technology is wonderful and necessary tool in today’s educational environment. It is my goal and passion to prepare our future teachers to be 21st century educators. We must make technology part of the everyday learning process, rather than something we do only on special occasions. I want to inspire students and teachers to think outside of the box, and to create new worlds as limitless as their imagination. I want teachers to always feel comfortable using technology in their classroom and to become digital risk-takers. I want to inspire everyone to let go of dated 20th century notions about education and embrace the wonderful and amazing possibilities that are present in the 21st century. It is my hope that through my continued tenure as a technology specialist and instructional leader, I will continue to find new ways to inspire my students and staff to use technology whenever possible.
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