Welcome to theJungle
By:Monika Wiggins
Hello everyone, my name is Monika Wiggins, and I can't believe I'm currently in this chapter of my life. I've always seen myself in grad school but I never knew how long it would take me to get here. I can say "IT TOOK A WHILE " but here we are. I graduated from Stephen F. Austin in the spring of 2021 and I was determined to jump right on in to a Master's Program. I did my research on schools and degree plans until I stumbled up on Lamar university. I was a bit nervous only because I thought I didn't have enough experience to obtain such a degree. Yes, I thought that! I feel kind of silly now because I've learned so much already. Well, fasten your seatbelts everyone you're now headed into the JUNGLE. Enjoy !
September 12, 2021
Growth Mindset
I do believe most people want to embrace the growth mindset but they often struggle with the reappearance of Fixed Mindset thinking. I was one of those people until i realized " I just can't afford to be stuck in my ways. The student are depending on me to teach them and not teach at them. The students are craing to learn and we should be the one's who provise a safe learning environment.
I consider myself to have a mixture of both mindsets, but I think I do have more of the growth minset. I'm a pretty tough cookies and It's hard to just give up but I think of the kids and the passion I have for the educational field.I'm a Pastor I have have to remember to practic what I preach. It's not easy but I remember tht I have all eyes on me. I've thought about it and i realized the mind is a terrible thing to waste. I got my thughts together and I put all of my thoughts and talents into makiing sure my students get the best experience as possible.This is where I think about how I want to display the growth mindset to my own students because I know how important it has been to me and my children.
Disruptive Innovation:
Change is very hard for so many people and as we go through life we can say that it brings many changes. As we grow older our bodies change. our eyes may change but one thing i've noticed is " Our minds rarely change". It is important that we be open to change to show and model growth, maturity and prevent becoming stagnant in areas of life. My husband and I minister to people everyday about renewing their mind. When you renew your mind you must step out of your comfort zones. You must not be afraid of the unknown or the what ifs and the what may not. When you are in your comfort zones you miss out on new opportunities . I believe we need to step "STEP OUT " of our comfort zones that hold us bound and may have such a negative impact on our student growth. How are we able to navigate through new opportunities and possibilities. I believe we need to step "STEP OUT " of our comfort zones that hold us bound and may have such a negative impact on our student growth. How are we able to navigate through new opportunities and possibilities. Being in education, change is inevitable. Updates happen often and we must be like a sponge always ready to soak up new information. There will always be something new to learn.
Trainings and professional development are always updating. I think change brings new challenges. I'm always up for a challenge. Think of it that way. We as Educators must bring something new to the table for our students. If we bring something new to the table so they won't be bored and the Teachers won't be burned out. Disruptive innovation is the mechanism for bringing about a personalized education system. An education system that can be tailored to each individual student's learning needs so that all students can succeed is clearly an ideal worth striving for.
One of my classmates mentioned also that one of the videos mentioned "competing against nothing" as a definition of disruptive. In the book, Blended, the author discusses online programs created for Advanced Placement courses as an example of disruptive innovation because the district didn't have anything in place to begin with. With the right well thought-out plan, a disruptive innovation could allow for tremendous growth in an education system that is lacking. I'm new to the blended learning world but I know it will help mold me into the Educator I know I can be not only for me but for my students.My students will have a voice in my classroom and they will be given choices to will push them to the next level of learning.