My goal is to provide rigorous differentiated instruction to students while maintaining a motivated and passionate outlook on literacy engagement.
I believe that the ultimate goal of teaching is to foster learning. When I stop to critically think about my future as an educator, and the goals I have for my practice, there are a few main areas of growth I hope to focus on. By focusing on these core areas I hope to develop as an educator, learner and communicator within education and grow in my ability to cultivate a love of learning and deep curiosity within a close-knit and caring classroom community.
As an educator, a goal I will focus on within my practice is rigorous instruction. Rigorous instruction pushes students to move past their comfort zone and into a space of productive learning and growth. By providing students with opportunities to be challenged, and opportunities for hard work, I will be able to promote growth mindset as well as show them how strong and capable all learners can be. This is a primary focus, and a strategic goal, within my personal education practice in the future as an important aspect of teaching is challenging students and watching them grow to their full potential. In the future, I will strive to take students from different levels and backgrounds and encourage them to reach their individual goals. By providing students with a challenging yet supportive learning environment, I will be able to facilitate learning in a way that allows students to guide themselves through learning and interactions. I believe that students learn best when they are given the opportunity to explore and make meaning from class materials. This requires engaging and rigorous activities to be shared with students regularly so that they are pushed to expand outside of their comfort zone, and engage in authentic struggle that promotes learning.
As I progress both as an educator within a public education setting, as well as a learner across a Master of Arts in Education student I have realized that motivation plays a huge role in acquiring new knowledge. I have watched first hand as motivation has affected my students learning, and my own learning as well. Due to this realization, I have decided to ensure that I set goals for my practice revolving around student motivation within education. A student’s desire to learn is a key component of whether they will actually acquire the knowledge desired. I will strive to always motivate my students to want to learn, and to love the process of learning new information and skills. I will be aware that students have many different learning styles and I will accommodate these different styles by promoting an atmosphere that is conducive to learning. I will foster positive attitudes and a growth mindset towards learning by demonstrating my love for learning to all students. I have decided to become an educator because of my love for learning, and continued to grow as an educator throughout professional learning because of this love. To do this I feel it is crucial to create a safe and comfortable environment for student interaction. I have a goal of ensuring that I use my knowledge of student's interests and personalities as the driving force behind my lesson planning. Focusing on the interests of my students within the classroom in an educational setting not only motivates them, but also promotes growth and motivation within the learning environment.
Finally, a goal I have set for myself within literacy education is to develop a love of literacy within the students I instruct. I believe that fostering a love for reading early on in a child's education is crucial for not only their literacy success, but also their enjoyment in the learning, and reading, developmental process. I stand by the notion that it is imperative to establish a trusting and positive relationship with the students in a classroom in order to understand them best, and in turn best meet their needs. I believe it is important to uncover my student's interests, curiosities, and learn as much as possible about their cultural backgrounds in order to prepare authentic lessons with individualized learning. I have set goals for myself that push me to implement inquiry-based learning, encourage my students in generating their own understanding, and offer students choice in their educational endeavors.
As I focus in on what the future will hold for me, I know that I will be able to achieve my goals if I continue to develop as a learner, and a passionate educator.