Self-reflection - DLL Synthesis

“If you’re waiting for a sign – this is it.”

This statement is a good example COVA and CLSE to me. In the beginning of the course I found myself looking for direction on which way to go, affirmation that I was doing the assignment right, or a sign that let me know this was a good decision. I realized that with one or two classes left, I was still doing the same thing; looking for validation from external sources. Then it hit me: what I was looking for was staring me in the face. What I was looking for was ME.

In the 5313 course of the DLL program at Lamar University, Creating Significant Learning Environments, it sank in that I genuinely had choice, ownership and voice through the authenticity of my assignments. No matter how long it took me to grapple with who my audience truly was I knew that my voice was key in everything I would do from this point forward. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] This mode of thinking exceeded the growth mindset I initially learned about at the start of this master’s program. I had to literally retrain my brain and reprogram my thinking. I wrote letters to my younger self on the subject and sought out the counsel of my classmates and professors in order to thoroughly understand what it meant to. This also included gaining a true understanding of my audience and the people I wanted my innovation plan to impact.

In week one of Constructing Meaningful Connections, one of the discussion points was a teacher’s job is to create a context where they can cultivate imagination, honor passion and help learners connect their passions to the things they need to learn. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. I had been stressed out thinking my assignments were not good enough. I looked at the work my cohorts were submitting and felt intimidated. A lOT. I would question my choices, spend hours re-reading the comments and going back and forth on my e-portfolio design, and the way I wanted to present my plan.

After toiling over whether or not I was being proactive in my learning environment or reactive I said “to hell with it! I must be authentic to my style, my thoughts, my desired outcome, to me.” I breezed (insert highly factious tone) through the assignment and realized the decision-making process became less grueling. Defending my choices became easier and enjoyable in a sense because they were mine. I was no longer trying to live up to classmates whom I admired or what I thought was expected of me. I understood that I was being asked to really become aware of who I was in the world of COVA and to honor my contributions to my environment by creating ways for the buried treasures of my scholars to show themselves. I felt relieved and determined to finish the master’s degree. Who would have ever thought such a reaction could be so liberating.

I would love to say that I was ready for this awakening in my professional like because I have been a “rebel” since I started teaching. I learned that different did not mean discredited and by presenting the information in a more digestible manner, I could integrate COVA + CLSE into more aspects of my campus.

I shifted my learning style to be more aware of the benefits of considering other learning styles and when something did not work, I opted to try one of those learning styles first. Had that lightbulb gone off sooner I would have taken a more welcoming approach to the e-portfolio and possibly gone with a different design.

Some courses throughout the degree program were more COVA driven than others in my opinion. This has resulted in boosts of confidence to share my innovation plan and increased my desire to see a change in my organization. It is more than just making it through the program. As an ELAR educator, it is important that the demonstration of learning be given in a manner that is specific to the learner. The monotony of test taking should not continue to be used in our ELAR classrooms. There are so many avenues to explore and simply bubbling in answers does not suffice.

The challenges of introducing something new do not outweigh the proven benefits of COVA to my scholars. Rejection is a part of the process. I embrace it fully. One of the biggest challenges I foresee is the time to introduce the concept and properly demonstrate how it can be a benefit. Even still, I look forward to the idea of seeing COVA in ELAR classrooms and developing CLSE through the eyes of my students.

As I reflect on the work I have done thus far I can say that I started with a strong desire to innovatively deconstruct my campus and destroy education as we all knew it to give fresh, exciting, student driven revitalization to the system. My desire was to introduce COVA + CLSE to my peers, and to continually have these concepts demonstrated by my scholars in the classroom. In complete transparency I can not say that it will work given the content I teach. ELAR in 7th grade is such a precious gem. Many people can not see past the standardized test to fully receive the vastness COVA could have on the subject. It was highly discouraging to push relentlessly against the walls of no and at times I did want to do just enough to get by. When those thoughts come up, I make it a point to remind myself why I started. It was never to just get by.

My learning philosophy and COVA/CSLE is the same as the relationship between teaching and learning. The connection lies in the ability to grow or expand the motivations of the learner and the facilitator collectively and independently. When the atmosphere is created so that learners can seek information and experience it for themselves a world of possibilities opens.

My thoughts on learning existed well before I knew that COVA/CLSE existed. This program has given new insight and terminology to things that I feel are essential to holistic learning and have helped me to defend my scholars being fully immersed into the learning process versus waiting for waiting for information to jump in the brain. There is actually an article that goes into good detail on the matter.

Knowing what I know about COVA I stated finding ways to incorporate more projects for ELAR students in 6th and 7th grade to demonstrate their learning. One way this manifested itself in my class was with a 6 weeks review over drama, poetry, and fiction. Students were given the topics and asked to create a demonstration of what they learned. They could use their notes, any resources in the classroom, and 2 websites. There was no rubric; just guiding questions to provoke thought. This was a major success. Students initially struggled with no rubric or rules and had a million ‘can I do this’ questions. After answering you have complete ownership 1 million and one times, I think they got the hang of it. I am all in with COVA and I will continue to advocate for it until my last breath.

I plan to keep this going throughout the next school year. I have asked for teachers to rotate through mu classroom and see this first hand and asked to lead some professional development on how this can be successful and why. I would have never had the confidence to do this if it were not for this program.

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