Digital Blog Post # J Chapter 11

Chapter 11 had an interesting turn of topics as it discussed what teachers can do to better themselves as individuals and as professionals. So much about teaching is aimed towards the students and bettering them as academic successors. While that will always be the main priority, it is important to remember that teachers are indispensable aspects to the student’s success. It is important for the teacher to learn and grow along with the students. This chapter gave different ideas on how teachers can grow as educators and how they can continuously be a better educational professional. It also showed the different situations some schools are using that allows the students to be placed on equal playing ground as the teachers as far as making decisions and casting a vote.

I had never considered creating a digital teaching portfolio before, but the notion is really quiet intriguing. A teacher can collaborate all of their lessons and experiences throughout their career in a single area. Here they can record how successful it was and whether or not they would change or adjust anything about the lesson or situation. As the years go on and a teacher’s portfolio starts growing, they can then go through and start purging things they didn’t think worked so well. A digital portfolio serves as an organized collection of materials that shows a teachers growth and development over time. (Transforming Teaching With New Technologies) There are numerous different manifolds of technology that can be used to help create a portfolio. Many use blogs as a way to document all of their experiences. Some use PowerPoint because it enables them to document more easily using pictures and animations. The basic concept behind all of these ideas is to record observations through experience and to show the accomplishments that the teacher may have succeeded in along the way.

Reflection is a major part of a digital teaching portfolio and may be the key factor in its benefits to teachers and students. The vital conviction behind reflection is that a teacher must be completely and brutally honest with one’s self. If an assignment or project did not go according to plan, it is important to list what and why. This allows the educator to look back in the future and possibly fix the reasons behind the original failure. Reflection stands for the process of self-assessment in which a learner examines past actions to identify what to maintain or change. (Transforming Learning With New Technologies) In an article written on Education World, author Linda Starr writes, “One of the most difficult aspects of teaching is the isolation it imposes on its practitioners. Teachers spend most of their days alone in their own classrooms, with their own students. Few opportunities are available to casually observe -- and easily learn from -- other teachers.” (Teacher Diary: Reflections on Teaching and Learning) This is where accurate reflection plays such a vital role. If an educator can record accurately the cause and effect, or pros and cons of an activity, it will eventually help a fellow educator who may be trying to teach the same concepts to their students. It is a wonderful enterprise that teachers can use to bond as a single unit and to encourage one another with new and creative ideas.

One of the most interesting concepts to me in this chapter was the section on Democratic Schools and Classrooms. It was nothing along the lines of what I was anticipating. Naturally, I associated it with democratic, republican parties and while there may be some similarities, they are not associated in the least. Democratic schools are places where students and teachers together make substantive decisions about important aspects of educational operations. (Transforming Learning With New Technologies) The practice of a democratic style classroom is starting to catch on worldwide and it gaining many people’s attention. On a website called Education Revolution, TedX actually has a video link you can follow as he discussed the importance of democratic style learning. This website office an extensive list of schools all over the world that follow the democratic style of learning and provide links parents can follow to learn where they are and if that school is the correct place for their children.  The critics of this learning style say if you give the opportunity, students will make immature decisions such as less homework and more social time. (Transforming Learning With New Technologies) The dispute to this argument is that teacher’s superiority is not in question within the classroom. Students still act with respect and are not given the opportunity to change the curriculum, only given the opportunity to vote on how it is taught and assessed.

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Chapter 11 was by far one of my favorites in terms of new information and thinking outside the box. I have never heard of doing some of the attributes discussed throughout this chapter. I love the concept of creating a teaching portfolio and have already started collaborating ideas to create my own. The reflections section really brought home the real meaning behind the portfolio and the importance of being honest within it. You will not learn your mistakes and know how to fix them if you don’t acknowledge your mistakes. And of course, the democratic schools system was what really blew my mind. I cannot believe I have never heard of something that gives students such a voice. I think if used in the right way it can really change the world of education for the better. 

References: 

 Democratic Schools. (2014). Retrieved November 7, 2015, from http://www.educationrevolution.org/store/findaschool/democraticschools/

Maloy, R. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

The Power of Democratic Process in Schools: Jerry Mintz at TEDxYouth@BFS. (2012, October 16). Retrieved November 7, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lrHG8y_9C4

Saidi, A. (2011, January 13). Bringing Democratic Education to Your Classroom and School (Lesson Plan). Retrieved November 7, 2015, from http://democraticeducation.org/index.php/library/resource/bringing_democratic_education_to_your_classroom_and_school/

Starr, L. (2003, January 7). Teacher Diary: Reflections on Teaching and Learning. Retrieved November 7, 2015, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev033.shtml