Throughout my DLL journey, I have experienced a variety of emotions. Initially, I was very nervous. Others I know who had gone through the process of receiving a Masters degree had always talked about how difficult and demanding grad school can be. Furthermore, witnessing my sister go through her own journey to complete her MBA did nothing to wane the nervousness I experienced.
However, what quickly changed my feelings from nervousness to hopefulness was when I was given my first assignment in 5302, developing a growth mindset plan for others on my campus. Although I enjoyed discovering Carol Dweck's idea of the growth mindset through videos and readings, this was the first time I was able to apply what I learned in a COVA context. I was able to choose the type of plan I wanted to implement, gain ownership of my assignment by developing and designing my plan in a manner that fits my audience and gave myself voice by sharing this knowledge with fellow teachers on my campus, which also made this an authentic learning experience. For the first time in my educational careers, I felt a freedom to explore and engage in learning on my own terms.
Learning in this manner was a completely new experience for me and something I was not ready for intially. As an "honors" student throughout most of my life, grades were always at the forefront of my focus. After all, how do traditional schools typically teach students that they are learning and have done well? By giving them an A or B for being able to regurgitate what they have been taught on graded assignments. And, speaking very truthfully, many of the concepts I was taught throughout those years of schooling have been forgotten. The only ones that are still strongly engrained in my memory are those concepts and skills that were explored through completing a meaningful project or that I continue to use on an everyday basis. And, looking at my very first assignment in 5302 and those that followed, the idea of being given choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning experiences has produced this same effect. I feel like I have learned and am continuing to learn more about concepts covered in the program such as COVA, growth mindset, effective professional learning, etc because I am applying them towards a flipped classroom with project-based learning innovation project that is meaningful to me. This has made the process of formal learning fun for me again and, for the first time in my educational career, my focus has shifted from the end grade to the process of learning.
Experiencing firsthand how effective the COVA model has been in my own experience makes me even more excited to implement this style of learning on my campus. Using the DLL program as a blueprint, I look forward to building a growth mindset on my campus that encourages teachers to take risks with their students and to be open to the idea of implementing the flipped classroom model. And, just as we have experienced with our innovation plan development, I look forward to providing teachers with guidance as they embark on authentic, real-world professional learning that give them firsthand experience utilizing Blended Learning with project-based learning in order to create significant learning environments for their students.
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