A.J. Stibitz's Professional Portfolio
An Educational Adventure
To be honest, I did not know what to expect going into Michigan State University’s MAED program. The first and most obvious reason for this was that it was a masters program that was entirely online. I had never taken an online class and I was also was not that much into technology. I had no idea on what to expect. I did not know if online learning could be effective or if I could enjoy the experience. Online learning proved to be both effective and I enjoyed every class.
More than the shock of being totally online, I was apprehensive in that I had no idea where the program would take me. As I looked at the course list, I felt overwhelmed. There were so many directions that I could travel. To figure out what direction to go, I first had to figure out who I wanted to be as an educator. I knew that I wanted to make my classroom active and alive. Besides being more beneficial to the students, this style of teaching allows me to bring energy to the classroom every day. I identified three areas to allow this to happen. I wanted to take classes that would promote discussion in the classroom, help effectively use classroom technology and make learning student centered.
With the goal of making my classroom more active, I selected TE 891 Teaching Literature Through Discussion as my first class. Discussion, if done correctly, can be a great tool in making the classroom interesting and active. This class gave me the background to be able to have effective discussion both led by me and by my students.
I learned that teacher led and student led discussions both have their advantages and disadvantages. Student led discussion are more authentic to the students and provide a more interesting environment because students become empowered. But, they can lose focus and not always accomplish what needs to be accomplished. Teacher led discussions are controlled by the teacher and are geared to cover what needs to be. This type of discussion can easily become a teacher dominated and students do not always participate when this happens.
I came to the realization that the two types do not have to be exclusive from one another. I believe that the best discussion is one where the teacher balances the two. I wanted my discussion to be both teacher and student led. At times, I wanted the students to have control, but I also wanted to ask my own questions. I wanted to steer the conversation, but allow the students to personalize it. With the information gained from this class, I now feel confident in having effective and lively discussion in any classroom setting.
The second class that I selected was CEP 812 Applying Educational Technology. Before I entered the MAED program, I could tell that education and technology was on a crash course. That is, as a society, technology had to find its place in education. It was obvious that it was not going away; it was only going to get more in twined with our lives and education. The beginning of my teaching brought exciting new ideas about the possibilities that technology could provide. Before entering the MAED Program, I had to rely on self-teaching to provide effective ways of using technology in the classroom. My undergraduate teacher education program hardly mentioned the possibilities of technology as an instruction tool. I quickly found problems with using technology in the classroom. The first was that when you count on it for a lesson, it is bound to fail. I can remember many instances of scrambling when the Internet went down. I needed to have training to use technology effectively and this class provided the base for a to be able to do so.
Now, my vision of technology is a vision of balance. I want to give my students the best possible education. To do this, technology in the classroom must be considered. I understand that the brain of this newest generation of Americans is changing. Technology is changing the way brains develop. Therefore, there must be a balance in the classroom to meet this change. We must use technology as well as teach in more traditional ways. Technology will keep students interested while more traditional teaching will round out the development of the brain. For example, I know I must continue to teach older novels and stories. With these stories, students will be able to develop imagination and visualization skills. This is something that is lacking when everything is presented right in front of the student. In saying that, I also want to make the class relative and exciting for my students. For example, I now feel comfortable using and even creating web quests. I even feel comfortable creating a webpage for my classroom. This is something that was totally foreign and seemed out of reach only five years ago.
As I traveled through the program, I constantly came across the idea of student centered learning. From many classes in my program, I learned that my main classroom goal is to create a community of learners. As a teacher, it is my belief that I should not be the king of this community; I need to be the guide. I will make the classroom student-centered where power is shared. I do not want to be seen as the expert who has all of the answers. I strive to be the one who asks the questions and helps students find their own answers. The information needs to be discovered by the individual student. With each discovery comes the personalization of the information and the connection to the students’ lives. I will create an environment where students work with each other and the teacher to create meaning for themselves and to fulfill their educational goals.
The environment I will create in my classroom is based around the concept of unlocking our full potential. I will reward effort. I believe education is more about the process than the end result. For me to feel successful as an educator, I believe that I need to create a student that can truly learn rather than spew unnecessary information. I will teach students how to think.
A key to creating this environment is active learning. I will not have the students merely memorize facts. I want to make each class as lively as possible. My classroom will be a series of discoveries where students question what they already know and come together to find new solutions. They will build on their previous knowledge as well as knowledge offered by the class. This will happen through classroom discussion, group work, as well as personal reflection.
One class that was crucial to developing this philosophy was CEP802-Developing Positive Attitudes Towards Learning. Because of this class, I will always strive to create intrinsic motivation in my students. To do this, I will let students know what is important to learn while connecting the content to their lives. I believe that there are two ways to do this. First, a teacher should set goals with the class and let them have input on where the class is going. This will make what they are learning important because the information being taught in class is fulfilling their learning goals. Secondly, the class needs to be authentic. As a History teacher, this can sometimes be difficult. The material I teach must be useful and relevant to their lives. I will always try to tie the thoughts and concepts to their lives. This should help motivate the class because they are not just studying an isolated event in the past. They are studying what affects their lives. To help the authenticity of the class, I will offer choices that allow the students the freedom to take the class where they find meaning.
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The second direction I went into dealt with coaching. I gained so much from high school sports when I went to school. I learned discipline, competitiveness, teamwork, and sportsmanship. All of these lessons have made me a better person beyond the world of sports. Because of this, I believe it is my duty to give the same opportunities to our youth. I know that coaches have gotten a bad name in the educational world. Too often there is the stereotype of the head coach drawing up plays while the class is mindlessly scribbling on a worksheet. Although this stereotype is some times correct, I wanted to be different. I wanted the sports field to be an extension of learning. Just like teaching, I felt like I needed to learn to improve. The MAED program allowed me to do this. I enrolled in three coaching classes that enhanced my abilities as a coach.
These three classes, which focused on the psychosocial aspects, the legal aspects and the science behind coaching, have shaped my philosophy of coaching. I now believe that the biggest goal of sports is to develop people. That is, sports should be used to develop people both physically and mentally. As a coach, I want to make sure that my players are in the best shape as possible. This promotes heath as well as dedication to a team. I can now have the scientific skills to most effectively and safely do this. I also want my players to be in the best mental shape as possible. Sports develop skills in leadership, teamwork and goal setting as well as create an appetite for competitiveness. These skills can all be used in life after sports. As a coach, my goal is to foster these skills. To be part of a great team, my players must learn these lessons. If they do, I will feel successful because they will find success both on and off the playing field.
High school sports are an extension of the classroom. I embrace this because I believe that receiving an education is more important than sports. Sports can enhance an education, but sports cannot be a substitution for it. Because of this, I believe that athletes need to be successful in the classroom before they can have the privilege of playing sports.
As for winning, I am competitive and I expect my players to be so too. My team goals will always have some aspect of winning in them. But, I know this is not going to overpower my philosophy. I value winning, but not to the extent that it will not allow interfere with my athletes having fun and developing as well as being in a safe environment.
Continuing with the sports theme, I believe that the MAED program has revealed my competitive nature. This nature has given me the drive to be the best person that I can be. This is true in coaching as well as in education. I want to always get better. I want to perform to the best of my abilities. Much like sports, this program has given me the skill set to be effective in the education community. Again like sports, I cannot stop training. I most continue to get better through learning. I again do not know what to expect. I do not know what educational road I will travel. Much like entering this program, I do not know which way to go because there is so much out there to help me improve. As I sit back, I now realize that the direction is not the important aspect; it is the drive in me that loves learning. I have this drive and I cannot wait for my next educational adventure.
-A.J. Stibitz
7.11.11
More than the shock of being totally online, I was apprehensive in that I had no idea where the program would take me. As I looked at the course list, I felt overwhelmed. There were so many directions that I could travel. To figure out what direction to go, I first had to figure out who I wanted to be as an educator. I knew that I wanted to make my classroom active and alive. Besides being more beneficial to the students, this style of teaching allows me to bring energy to the classroom every day. I identified three areas to allow this to happen. I wanted to take classes that would promote discussion in the classroom, help effectively use classroom technology and make learning student centered.
With the goal of making my classroom more active, I selected TE 891 Teaching Literature Through Discussion as my first class. Discussion, if done correctly, can be a great tool in making the classroom interesting and active. This class gave me the background to be able to have effective discussion both led by me and by my students.
I learned that teacher led and student led discussions both have their advantages and disadvantages. Student led discussion are more authentic to the students and provide a more interesting environment because students become empowered. But, they can lose focus and not always accomplish what needs to be accomplished. Teacher led discussions are controlled by the teacher and are geared to cover what needs to be. This type of discussion can easily become a teacher dominated and students do not always participate when this happens.
I came to the realization that the two types do not have to be exclusive from one another. I believe that the best discussion is one where the teacher balances the two. I wanted my discussion to be both teacher and student led. At times, I wanted the students to have control, but I also wanted to ask my own questions. I wanted to steer the conversation, but allow the students to personalize it. With the information gained from this class, I now feel confident in having effective and lively discussion in any classroom setting.
The second class that I selected was CEP 812 Applying Educational Technology. Before I entered the MAED program, I could tell that education and technology was on a crash course. That is, as a society, technology had to find its place in education. It was obvious that it was not going away; it was only going to get more in twined with our lives and education. The beginning of my teaching brought exciting new ideas about the possibilities that technology could provide. Before entering the MAED Program, I had to rely on self-teaching to provide effective ways of using technology in the classroom. My undergraduate teacher education program hardly mentioned the possibilities of technology as an instruction tool. I quickly found problems with using technology in the classroom. The first was that when you count on it for a lesson, it is bound to fail. I can remember many instances of scrambling when the Internet went down. I needed to have training to use technology effectively and this class provided the base for a to be able to do so.
Now, my vision of technology is a vision of balance. I want to give my students the best possible education. To do this, technology in the classroom must be considered. I understand that the brain of this newest generation of Americans is changing. Technology is changing the way brains develop. Therefore, there must be a balance in the classroom to meet this change. We must use technology as well as teach in more traditional ways. Technology will keep students interested while more traditional teaching will round out the development of the brain. For example, I know I must continue to teach older novels and stories. With these stories, students will be able to develop imagination and visualization skills. This is something that is lacking when everything is presented right in front of the student. In saying that, I also want to make the class relative and exciting for my students. For example, I now feel comfortable using and even creating web quests. I even feel comfortable creating a webpage for my classroom. This is something that was totally foreign and seemed out of reach only five years ago.
As I traveled through the program, I constantly came across the idea of student centered learning. From many classes in my program, I learned that my main classroom goal is to create a community of learners. As a teacher, it is my belief that I should not be the king of this community; I need to be the guide. I will make the classroom student-centered where power is shared. I do not want to be seen as the expert who has all of the answers. I strive to be the one who asks the questions and helps students find their own answers. The information needs to be discovered by the individual student. With each discovery comes the personalization of the information and the connection to the students’ lives. I will create an environment where students work with each other and the teacher to create meaning for themselves and to fulfill their educational goals.
The environment I will create in my classroom is based around the concept of unlocking our full potential. I will reward effort. I believe education is more about the process than the end result. For me to feel successful as an educator, I believe that I need to create a student that can truly learn rather than spew unnecessary information. I will teach students how to think.
A key to creating this environment is active learning. I will not have the students merely memorize facts. I want to make each class as lively as possible. My classroom will be a series of discoveries where students question what they already know and come together to find new solutions. They will build on their previous knowledge as well as knowledge offered by the class. This will happen through classroom discussion, group work, as well as personal reflection.
One class that was crucial to developing this philosophy was CEP802-Developing Positive Attitudes Towards Learning. Because of this class, I will always strive to create intrinsic motivation in my students. To do this, I will let students know what is important to learn while connecting the content to their lives. I believe that there are two ways to do this. First, a teacher should set goals with the class and let them have input on where the class is going. This will make what they are learning important because the information being taught in class is fulfilling their learning goals. Secondly, the class needs to be authentic. As a History teacher, this can sometimes be difficult. The material I teach must be useful and relevant to their lives. I will always try to tie the thoughts and concepts to their lives. This should help motivate the class because they are not just studying an isolated event in the past. They are studying what affects their lives. To help the authenticity of the class, I will offer choices that allow the students the freedom to take the class where they find meaning.
---
The second direction I went into dealt with coaching. I gained so much from high school sports when I went to school. I learned discipline, competitiveness, teamwork, and sportsmanship. All of these lessons have made me a better person beyond the world of sports. Because of this, I believe it is my duty to give the same opportunities to our youth. I know that coaches have gotten a bad name in the educational world. Too often there is the stereotype of the head coach drawing up plays while the class is mindlessly scribbling on a worksheet. Although this stereotype is some times correct, I wanted to be different. I wanted the sports field to be an extension of learning. Just like teaching, I felt like I needed to learn to improve. The MAED program allowed me to do this. I enrolled in three coaching classes that enhanced my abilities as a coach.
These three classes, which focused on the psychosocial aspects, the legal aspects and the science behind coaching, have shaped my philosophy of coaching. I now believe that the biggest goal of sports is to develop people. That is, sports should be used to develop people both physically and mentally. As a coach, I want to make sure that my players are in the best shape as possible. This promotes heath as well as dedication to a team. I can now have the scientific skills to most effectively and safely do this. I also want my players to be in the best mental shape as possible. Sports develop skills in leadership, teamwork and goal setting as well as create an appetite for competitiveness. These skills can all be used in life after sports. As a coach, my goal is to foster these skills. To be part of a great team, my players must learn these lessons. If they do, I will feel successful because they will find success both on and off the playing field.
High school sports are an extension of the classroom. I embrace this because I believe that receiving an education is more important than sports. Sports can enhance an education, but sports cannot be a substitution for it. Because of this, I believe that athletes need to be successful in the classroom before they can have the privilege of playing sports.
As for winning, I am competitive and I expect my players to be so too. My team goals will always have some aspect of winning in them. But, I know this is not going to overpower my philosophy. I value winning, but not to the extent that it will not allow interfere with my athletes having fun and developing as well as being in a safe environment.
Continuing with the sports theme, I believe that the MAED program has revealed my competitive nature. This nature has given me the drive to be the best person that I can be. This is true in coaching as well as in education. I want to always get better. I want to perform to the best of my abilities. Much like sports, this program has given me the skill set to be effective in the education community. Again like sports, I cannot stop training. I most continue to get better through learning. I again do not know what to expect. I do not know what educational road I will travel. Much like entering this program, I do not know which way to go because there is so much out there to help me improve. As I sit back, I now realize that the direction is not the important aspect; it is the drive in me that loves learning. I have this drive and I cannot wait for my next educational adventure.
-A.J. Stibitz
7.11.11
