COVA & CSLE Reflection

My Journey in the DLL Program

When I decided to go back to school it was in the middle of a pandemic with so many unknowns ahead. I was about to start my 13th year as an educator, but the school year was up in the air since we were not sure if we would teach in person or online. I decided on the DLL program at Lamar because I have always been somewhat tech savvy and wanted to become even more competent. I really thought I would be learning about new apps and tools for the classroom. Also, I was looking to do something for myself and hopefully make me a better teacher. What I didn’t know was that I was going to grow so much as a person and as a teacher.

My first class was in August of 2020 and it was Disruptive Innovation with Dr. Harapnuik. After our first Zoom meeting, I was second guessing myself and wondering if I had picked the right path and program. The amount of reading, assignments, discussion posts, and requirements were overwhelming and I was still trying to figure out Blackboard. However, I realized pretty early on that I had choice, ownership and voice through authentic assignments (COVA). I hadn't made a video for a class in years and the thought of having to create my own ePortfolio sounded like a bit much. But, we were always given options and freedom. As much as it was frustrating, it was also refreshing. As my classmates were creating these really nice ePortfolios, I was simply keeping all my ideas on a Google document. This was an example of how we were given choice and freedom. Eventually, as Dr. Harapnuik recommended, I simply transferred all my stuff from the Google document to my ePortfolio, and the transition was smooth and logical for myself. That's the thing, as we progressed through the program, I really got to choose what worked best for me. Ideally, we want to offer our own students the opportunity for them to choose what works best for them by creating significant learning environments (CSLE) for them.

My style of learning has changed since going through the DLL journey. I was used to memorizing a bunch of information, and then taking a test to test my memorization skills. In this journey, I’ve created a whole ePortfolio from scratch, created countless videos using different formats, and collaborated with my peers along the way. I am definitely more creative and my mindset is not so black and white anymore. Knowing what I know now, I would probably collaborate even more. I feel like at the beginning I didn’t put myself out there as much. Now that we are close to the end, I have learned to reach out to people through the Slack app and Facebook groups. I wish I had done that more at the beginning, instead of trying to figure it all out without reaching out to my peers.

I work as a kindergarten teacher, and last year was the hardest year as an educator. We ended up teaching in a hybrid model at my school, so my team has been feeling teacher burnout. This year has not been any easier, so when I approach my team with my innovation, I have to remember to do it with teacher burnout in mind. When it came to time to decide on an innovation, I decided on bringing a blended learning initiative to my school. I had never heard of the term blended learning until I started the program, yet quickly realized we somewhat already did a form of blended learning, we just needed to make it better. Dr. Harapnuik was quick to remind us that it is still an innovation because we can always do better. I figured it would be the best innovation to bring to my school because we have access to devices, and not all teachers know how to use them in the classroom. I wanted an innovation that would help my students and the whole kindergarten grade level and wouldn’t add more to teacher’s plates. I believe my innovation allows for COVA and CSLE while aligning with my learning philosophy of never stopping the learning. Thus, my learning philosophy has not changed, it has just expanded.

Moving forward, I plan on using the COVA approach to create significant learning environments for kindergarteners. I want foundational skills to be taught by giving students choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning opportunities. Yes, I will still need to direct teach certain things like sight words and identifying numbers and letters, but I will allow for discovery, exploration, and collaboration as well. Since starting the Digital Learning and Leading program, I've discovered that as a learner, I need to be pushed outside of my comfort zone. My first course in the program was difficult because I was used to getting a lot of information, memorizing, and taking a test. This was not the case, instead I was given choice and freedom and it felt a bit scary. Yet, I have learned so much and grown as a learner. It has even been enjoyable.