Education Technology 590

The Education Technology 590: Graduating Project has allowed me a significant opportunity to reflect on my growth throughout this program.  My biggest area of growth during the MET program was my realization that there were theories behind the things that I did everyday in the classroom. Somebody had put a name to making sure you design lessons with all learners in mind; Universal Design for Learning for example. One of my biggest “aha” moments was shortly after reading about UDL in a course I attended a professional development session about UDL being put on by a graduate of UBC’s MET program. I realized that making sure you differentiate your instructions so that all students can benefit was a UDL principle. One thing that really stuck with me is that all student benefit when you put supports in place for the students with the most needs. Another realization was that I was using many aspects of Constructivism and inquiry in my course design. I was building in opportunities to reflect on learning, and to follow personal interests. I was not hung up on everyone doing the same thing all, the time. Learning that there were well established theories and research behind these teaching methods has been extremely empowering. Faced with the monumental changes the new BC curriculum is bringing, many teachers are feeling overwhelmed. Me, on the other hand view most of the changes being made are giving me further empowerment to continue teaching how I have been and to incorporate even more inquiry and Constructivist methods. My professional growth has been exceptional throughout this program, from learning to navigate complex research studies or where to start digging for valid research to the theories that backup best practices.