Goal Reflection - by Andrea Smock
To Technology and Beyond….
by: Andrea Smock
I first wrote my goal statement for acceptance to the MSU Master’s of Education program in June of 2010. I remember coming at the essay with some hesitancy because I really didn’t know what I was going to write about or how I was going to state my reasons for attending the Master’s program. Then I just started thinking honestly about what my actual reasons were for attending the University (aside from just having to get continuing education credits!) My main reasons for pursuing my Master’s are to learn new approaches to teaching and to learn different strategies to teach diverse genres, specifically in a language arts setting. I also commented that taking courses online not only will work with my schedule but will also show my students how important it is to use and learn about technology. My main focus was on what I could do to better myself in order to be a better teacher for my students.
As I reflect on this goal statement today, nearly three year later, not much has really changed in my goals for this program or for my life in general. I still focus my career on making sure I am doing everything I can to help make my students successful learners.
However, one change I did make was with what I was focusing on more. I first started with the Literacy and Education track because I love literature and my Bachelor degree major was for Language Arts. As I took a few classes in the first semesters, a lot of the focus was on technology techniques. I credit Dr. Wong with really sparking my interest in using technology more in my classroom. The two classes that I took with him, “Learning Science with Technology” and “Seminar in CEP” were heavily focused on authentic technology use in the classroom. This made me want to change my focus away from Literacy to Technology. This also made more sense since at my school I had gone from the 5th-8th grade Language Arts teacher to the full time 7th and 8th grade teacher, teaching everything except Language Arts!
My goals now, as an MSU student, and most importantly, as a teacher, are to create as many authentic technology based
experiences for my students. As I reflected on this essay, not too much of my thinking has changed in these few years. As always, my job as a teacher is important to me. I am always trying to better myself and to find new ways to help my students.
by: Andrea Smock
I first wrote my goal statement for acceptance to the MSU Master’s of Education program in June of 2010. I remember coming at the essay with some hesitancy because I really didn’t know what I was going to write about or how I was going to state my reasons for attending the Master’s program. Then I just started thinking honestly about what my actual reasons were for attending the University (aside from just having to get continuing education credits!) My main reasons for pursuing my Master’s are to learn new approaches to teaching and to learn different strategies to teach diverse genres, specifically in a language arts setting. I also commented that taking courses online not only will work with my schedule but will also show my students how important it is to use and learn about technology. My main focus was on what I could do to better myself in order to be a better teacher for my students.
As I reflect on this goal statement today, nearly three year later, not much has really changed in my goals for this program or for my life in general. I still focus my career on making sure I am doing everything I can to help make my students successful learners.
However, one change I did make was with what I was focusing on more. I first started with the Literacy and Education track because I love literature and my Bachelor degree major was for Language Arts. As I took a few classes in the first semesters, a lot of the focus was on technology techniques. I credit Dr. Wong with really sparking my interest in using technology more in my classroom. The two classes that I took with him, “Learning Science with Technology” and “Seminar in CEP” were heavily focused on authentic technology use in the classroom. This made me want to change my focus away from Literacy to Technology. This also made more sense since at my school I had gone from the 5th-8th grade Language Arts teacher to the full time 7th and 8th grade teacher, teaching everything except Language Arts!
My goals now, as an MSU student, and most importantly, as a teacher, are to create as many authentic technology based
experiences for my students. As I reflected on this essay, not too much of my thinking has changed in these few years. As always, my job as a teacher is important to me. I am always trying to better myself and to find new ways to help my students.