Technology and ELAR: Learning Interests, Professional Development & Tips for Teachers

Learning Interests and Professional Development

As an instructor in The Age of Technology, a constant learning interest and goal of mine is to pursue unique and interesting ways to integrate technology in the class room. I believe that instructors are obligated to "keep up with the times" if they wish to keep students engaged. Some of my own fond memories of middle school are lessons that were relevant to me as a young student. I can recall vividly an assignment where we had to adapt and re-create a fairy tale. We were allowed to present this assignment utilizes the most up-to-date technology: a VHS camcorder! I, and my group, had a blast, and learned the fine stylistic points of fairy-tales.

Classroom management is a skill that is never mastered, but rather maintained. I recall one speaker in a professional development course I had taken who was highly skilled in class room management said: "One you have met one student... you have met one student!" Her point was to emphasize that every student is unique and different. As educators we need to be open to adapting; what works one year, may not work the next. It is a behavior management style such as this that allows educators to see students for what they are: individuals.

The most helpful book I have read as an educator is: "Discipline with Dignity: New Challenges, New Solutions" by Richard L. Curwin, among other writers. This book helped me to set a tone of mutual respect in my classroom. As a new teacher, I have received several compliments to how well-behaved my students are, and how courteous they are to one another. It is because I set the tone of the class room. I treat them with dignity and respect, and as a result they treat myself and their peers with the same. That does not mean that we get it right 100% of the time, but that does mean that out of respect for one another we allow space for error. I will be the first person to apologize to a student, even in front of the class if I am in the wrong. Believe me, I have apologized to a student in front of the class, because my class is not built upon hierarchy, but graciousness.