Today was a great day. It was less frustrating and anxiety ridden than any previous day. As I look back and reflect on the day, I find that the reason for that was the layout of the day. It was done in the traditional or "old school" way of instructing. This tells me that I am most comfortable with learning in the notes and lecture style. When moved out of that comfort zone, my level of anxiety raises leading to bouts of frustration. So the question is what does that mean for me?
1. I need to look at this revelation in regards to my classroom. The style of learning that we experienced over the past few days is a style that I feel would benefit my students. Their world revolves around the social tools, immediate feedback/information, and working together to find the answers to the questions. It is definetely an idea worth exploring and implementing in the classroom. If successful, then I can share the outcome with co-workers so that we might better meet the needs of our students.
2. I need to become more flexible and open-minded about the learning processes I might be exposed to. By being more open-minded and receptive, I stand to gain more and grow as an individual and an educator.
3. When I opened up to the idea of distributed learning and looking to my fellow cadre members for assistance, I found that the frustration was relieved. The best thing about working with the cadre members is their willingness to help and they were able to approach the challenge from multiple ways.
I believe this revelation is just the first of many!! I look forward to the journey more with each day.
