Setting Goals: Instrumental and Missional Thinking
Life can work can be very demanding and it is so very easy to get caught up in the daily tide of things and just go with the flow. It is good for us to stop and take some time to look to the future. This allows us to have a more deliberate part in shaping our lives and enables us to take intentional steps toward reaching our goals.
Looking back, I can see how far I have come - from worksheets and rote lessons as a survival measure to use of computer technology, multimodal learning strategies, and creative assessments. Because of this I have seen an increase in student engagement across the board, not just with hands-on experiments. One short-term goal I have is to continue to look for innovative ways for students to learn and show their understanding. I also want to engage in much more interdisciplinary and collaborative work with my colleagues. Incorporating Fine Arts and aesthetic learning has allowed my students to enjoy their learning more while building understanding on a deeper level and I want to continue it. I also aspire to allow my students to design more of their own experiments because that has been a surprisingly popular offshoot of trying to encourage more creativity and choice (important concepts in the Fine Arts and 21st Century learning).
I want to continue to push myself to try new things. In order to do this I will need to keep abreast of the new technologies that are being produced and of current trends in usage. I also want to do even more to make our work public, not an easy task for me since I generally get caught up in what we are doing and don’t think about taking pictures or making video. I hope to get students to help me with that goal.
Finally, as to long term goals, I want to become more of a leader. It is not easy for me to push adults to do something different or try something new. As a change maker, I want to encourage and help my colleagues to improve our teaching practices as a school. I also would like to become more involved in sharing my learning and experiences with others by presenting at a conference or a local Professional Development opportunity. Some of these goals are more lofty but the top of a mountain is reached with many small steps.
Looking back, I can see how far I have come - from worksheets and rote lessons as a survival measure to use of computer technology, multimodal learning strategies, and creative assessments. Because of this I have seen an increase in student engagement across the board, not just with hands-on experiments. One short-term goal I have is to continue to look for innovative ways for students to learn and show their understanding. I also want to engage in much more interdisciplinary and collaborative work with my colleagues. Incorporating Fine Arts and aesthetic learning has allowed my students to enjoy their learning more while building understanding on a deeper level and I want to continue it. I also aspire to allow my students to design more of their own experiments because that has been a surprisingly popular offshoot of trying to encourage more creativity and choice (important concepts in the Fine Arts and 21st Century learning).
I want to continue to push myself to try new things. In order to do this I will need to keep abreast of the new technologies that are being produced and of current trends in usage. I also want to do even more to make our work public, not an easy task for me since I generally get caught up in what we are doing and don’t think about taking pictures or making video. I hope to get students to help me with that goal.
Finally, as to long term goals, I want to become more of a leader. It is not easy for me to push adults to do something different or try something new. As a change maker, I want to encourage and help my colleagues to improve our teaching practices as a school. I also would like to become more involved in sharing my learning and experiences with others by presenting at a conference or a local Professional Development opportunity. Some of these goals are more lofty but the top of a mountain is reached with many small steps.