Upon entering the ADL program at Lamar University, I did not know what to expect. I was nervous but excited. I realized that I had a choice, ownership, and voice through authentic assignments from the moment that I received my first grade in the first course of the program. I would say that it was the first assignment but honestly, I thought there had to be some kind of catch to the assignment. However, when I received my feedback and grade that is when I truly realized that this program is instilling in me what they want me to instill in my learners. The ePortfolio was the first assignment and the whole time I thought I had to have been missing something as I could not possibly have this much freedom to do as I wished. To my surprise, that is exactly what this program wanted us to do. This program does not involve a lot of busy work or rote memory content like in many other courses. The content and assignments are real, true to our learning, and allowed me to learn through doing rather than merely listening to a lecture.
I was a bit hesitant at the beginning of the program and would frequently collaborate with my partner about whether we were doing the assignments and learning correctly. I know she was just as taken aback as I was. This type of learning was new to me but when I got the hang of it and realized what was expected, I fell in love with it. I have always learned through doing and being hands-on so this was perfect for me. In the beginning, I felt like I relied on and modeled a lot of my assignments on previous student examples to make sure that I was doing it correctly. However, now that I have the freedom and flexibility to tailor my learning and assignments how I see fit, I no longer rely on others to guide my work. It is a lot easier now as it just flows rather than being so modeled.
Once I became confident in the program I did not find it difficult at all to take control of my own voice and focus on my organization as the audience for my work because this is what my passion is. I have been ready and waiting to make a difference in my organization so to now have the tools to do that, it just flowed with ease. I knew right away what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.
However, in the beginning, I was nervous to promote change in my organization. I felt as though I would be judged based on the fact that people would see me as “just a teacher” trying to control things. However, now that I have the tools and knowledge to back up what I am aiming to do I feel empowered to lead the change that I wish to see in my organization.
My innovation plan is something that I have been wanting to incorporate for years. As a child, I always learned best through real-world knowledge and I knew my students would as well. Students need to be able to figure out how to problem solve and have critical thinking skills in order to be successful. Sure they can learn to count to 10 but if they cannot figure out how to budget that $10 will they be able to live comfortably when they are older? I noticed a huge gap in problem-solving skills after the pandemic. Students were left to their own devices and that left many to become sort of helpless in a way. Through PBL students will learn that they can figure things out and solve problems on their own, even if they do not get it the first time.
The COVA and CSLE approach is greatly aligned with my learning philosophy. I am all about giving my students the choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning assignments and creating significant learning environments. I feel this is why I chose Project-Based Learning as the star for my innovation plan. I aim to give my students learning that will help them not only now but in the future as well. I want them to be successful not only on the tests that they take in my class but more importantly in life. My perspective on learning has changed in that I am able to know no the power of giving my students more flexibility and freedom in their learning. As teachers, we want to control the learning so that we can push in as much as we can but that is not how individuals learn. People learn through trial and error and solving those authentic problems so that is the type of learning environment I now seek to give my students. This is the new culture of learning. We are out of the industrial era so our methods of teaching need to be as well.
I will use the COVA approach to plan all of my assignments and focus on this approach when structuring my classroom next year as well. I am so excited to hit the ground running next with all of the tools I have learned in the course. I know that it will make an astronomical impact on the learning of my students. I will give my learners choice, ownership, and voice through authentic assignments by planning backward to ensure that I create a significant learning environment that fosters COVA in every way possible. I believe by leaning into the Project Based Learning model, I can ensure that COVA is always on the frontline in terms of my teaching and students' learning. I will also aim to instill a growth mindset in my learners as I believe this is what keeps a learner from failing and giving up in life.
I will prepare my learners and colleagues for the COVA approach and CSLE just as this program has prepared me. Learning by doing. That is the best way to see how something works. I can speak all day long but unless someone views it with their own eyes, I feel like it is just words. However, when the learning that happens is witnessed, I feel the COVA approach and CSLE will soon spread throughout and students will quickly learn the usefulness. Some challenges I may face in using the COVA approach and CSLE are pushback and lack of training. I teach elementary-aged students so to truly create a significant learning environment that fosters the flexibility to allow choice, ownership, and voice through those authentic assignments students need to be trained for behavior to fully be independent enough to do it. However, once procedures and structure are set in place, I believe this will no longer be an issue. Another challenge I see is teacher pushback. However, when other educators see the action behind the words, one will not be able to deny the power of the COVA approach and CSLE.
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