When I look back over the last year and my journey in the Applied Digital Learning program, I am truly astonished at all that I have learned, not just academically but personally as well. As someone who naturally excels at “school”, I entered this program thinking that I would be doing some reading, taking some quizzes and tests and maybe a few assignments in-between. So, when I learned that that was the exact opposite of what I was stepping into I kind of freaked out.
I remember last summer sitting in my first class with Dr. Harapnuik, he was outlining all the usual course things and then he drops the bomb on us that we will be creating our own portfolio and blogging AND having to create our own collaborative group. When I tell you that I almost had a meltdown right then, I mean it! I got off our class meeting that night and told my husband “I don’t know what I was thinking, there’s no way I can do this! I don’t know how to make a website!” I had never had any type of digital portfolio past a simple about me page on my district’s LMS much less a website, and I most definitely had never blogged. I knew immediately this was going to put me out of my comfort zone and was going to be challenging for me.
I had to adjust my thinking when tackling an assignment or looking at any coursework. When I entered this program, I was unprepared for me to have a say in my education, especially at a graduate level. My professors no longer claimed to be the sole holder of the knowledge, they valued mine and my peers’ point of view and our experience. This was refreshing but also terrifying. Gone were the days where I could just memorize information and regurgitate it on a test and earn an easy A. Gone were the days that school came “easy” to me. Now I had to actually THINK about what my opinions were and decide what was important to me. I also now had to COLLABORATE with others!
Once, I came to terms that I was going to have to put effort into my work in this program I had to come to terms with the fact that I was going to have to “collaborate”. Again, I thought maybe I would just get in a group, and we’d do a few things together and that would be it. Thankfully, I was so wrong. However, I’ve never been a fan of group work in school, in all my personal experience one or two people do the majority of the work while the others are just along for the grade. And being one of the ones who typically ended up doing a lot of the work, I was not excited for this part of the program. However, by the grace of God, I grouped up with a wonderful group of ladies and we have stayed together through this whole program. Unlike the experiences I had in the past, these ladies are all hard working and dedicated to their jobs, students, and education. They are truly one of the biggest reasons for my success and continuation in this program. They have given so much encouragement and brought so many valuable perspectives to the table. Their input and friendship are truly invaluable.
During the first two courses Dr. Harapnuik spoke often of COVA (choice, ownership, voice through authentic learning environments), but I don’t think I fully grasped that until my second set of classes. When I was finally working on assignments like my growth mindset plan, learning manifesto or diving deep into my “why” that I was able to really grasp what he meant. I found myself excited about doing my assignments. Once I got in the groove, I would find myself staying up all hours of the night because I didn’t want to lose my train of thought and because I was having fun creating. And because I was able to make these assignments what I wanted them to be and what I needed them to be, it was more meaningful. I wasn’t just creating assignments for the sake of a grade anymore; I was creating tools that I have or will use in my classroom in the future. Not only was I learning about the benefits of COVA and how to implement it into my classroom, but I was also experiencing it firsthand. And that is powerful.
I have been wanting change for a while now, except I really wasn’t sure what that was. I had been toying around with so many different options, from leaving the teaching profession all together, to becoming a coach, moving grade levels, or even entering administration. Because of that, I think once I realized that one of the big focuses of this program was to leading change, I really ran with it. I now had a real means to create change and it can start in my classroom.
I am a doer. I love a good task and feel accomplished when it is complete. Implementing my innovation plan into my classroom gave me a new “task” to focus on. And I went all in. I chose blended learning because I had already (unknowingly) begun this process in my classroom and wanted to make it meaningful. Throughout my time in this program, I have grown in my desire to promote change further than just my classroom. I want to encourage my grade level team and campus to implement COVA ideas and practices, as well as my district. Through this program I have developed a professional learning plan that I can use to facilitate those that are willing and ready to create change in their classroom.
Along with my professional learning plan, I can also share my innovation plan and other resources that I have created with teachers that are interested in pursuing blended learning. My innovation plan is something that I really have started implementing in my classroom and not just something to fulfill requirements. I genuinely believe in my plan and will continue to implement and encourage to do so as well even after my time in this program is over. I have made modifications and changed aspects of it throughout the duration of the program, but the goal is the same. I want my students, and all students, to have choice, ownership, and voice in their learning through authentic learning experiences. I wasn’t aware that was the official name of what I wanted until my time in the program, but it describes exactly what I have been wanting for my classroom.
Before this program and all the learning have done in it, I would have identified myself as a behaviorist. Originally, I would have argued that students (especially the little ones like I teach) really learn through the process of rewards and consequences. And while I do believe that in part, however, I now tend to lean towards being a “behavioral constructivist” meaning that I believe that learning should be fun, challenging, and innovative and that meaning is constructed through experiences and repetitive practice. And because of this program, I am able to put my desires into words and more importantly action. I now have the tools to create the authentic learning environments that I believe are so important for my students and the desire to encourage others to do the same.
While I am enthusiastic about my innovation plan and my journey to implementing true blended learning into my kindergarten classroom, I still expect hiccups to come my way. I know not everyone has the same thinking as me. I am thankful that I have learned so much from this program, one being how to have difficult conversations and how to influence change. I know that each class will be different than the one I have now and therefore will require me to evaluate and make modifications to some procedures and expectations. However, I wholeheartedly believe in the COVA approach and will continue to implement it the best that I can in my classroom.
As of right now, I have fully implemented blended learning into my ELA part of my day and am beginning to transition parts of my math day as well. My students are routinely using a station menu where they choose what station they visit for the day. The choices in stations vary from curriculum-based hands-on stations to purposeful online learning stations on Seesaw where I group students and differentiate their assignments based on needs. I want my young learners to become partners with me in their education and start to own their learning and engage in authentic learning experiences. I talk about this more in my collaborative group’s podcast: EdTech Talks.
I plan to continue encouraging my team to implement COVA practices in their classrooms as well, using my successes and challenges as building blocks for them to learn. I am reminded of how we as educators tell our students that “YET” is a powerful word. I want my colleagues to understand the power of YET for themselves as well. I will use my growth mindset plan to initiate the conversation and build upon that with the power of my “why”. I believe that if I can inspire even just one of my teammates to join me on this journey, then I have brought about change for the good of my students, campus, and education.
Resources
Dwayne Harapnuik, Tilisa Thibodeaux, & Cynthia Cummings. (2018). Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic Learning COVA. Creative Commons License. https://doi.org/https://gallery.mailchimp.com/1bdbac4d4fbdff334a642eb11/files/8b18ae2 a-8696-4d58-9b80-192f4cc6624c/COVA_eBook_Jan_2018.02.pdf
Dwayne Harapnuik. (2015, May 9). Creating Significant Learning Environments (CSLE) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/eZ-c7rz7eT4
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House
Dweck, C. (2015, September 22). Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’ . Education Week. December 3, 2023, https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset/2015/09
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., McMillan, R., Switzler, A., & Gregory, E. (2022). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill.
Harapnuik, D. (2018, July 14). CSLE. It’s About Learning. November 3, 2023, https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=849
photo by Wix "Looking towards the horizon"
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