My Journey as a Tribe Leader via Storify

What are you passionate about??

For some reason, this question always gives me a sense of anxiety.  It makes me look within myself to really think: "Tori, what ARE you passionate about?"  It is not a question that you ask yourself every day, but live out every day without even thinking about it.

I will always remember when I decided that I wanted to become an elementary school teacher.  I was sitting in my first lecture of Educational Studies 111, Educational Foundations, as a freshman attending University of Oregon.  I enrolled as a psychology major but took this course for general education credits.  The professor would frequently give us case studies about students he had worked with and we would critically think about how we could help give these children the best education possible.  These included heart-breaking stories about children living in poverty, abusive parents, behavioral disorders, etc.  This was when I decided that if I could help children receive a fantastic education within their first years of life, I could potentially help make a positive difference in their lives.

So I guess when thinking back on the question "What are you passionate about?", my question is answered.  I am passionate about providing a quality education for every single student when they enter my classroom.  This means students ranging from the lowest to highest SES's, every race, gender, and sexual orientation.  In order to put my words into action, it is imperative that I not only view my students as students, but also as people.  Some of the children that enter my classroom may have experiences that I could not even fathom.  It is my job to ensure that my classroom is a safe space where they are not only learning the curriculum, but also how to grow as people who are open to diversity and feel that they can be themselves in this expansive world.

If I had to narrow this passion to one specific aspect of research, I think that it would entail the importance of character education within the classroom.  Too often, teachers feel that it is their job to simply teach the subjects and receive high test scores and forget that students are growing as people right in front of their eyes.  No other adult spends 7 consecutive hours with these children on a daily basis, and the potential for enhancing these children's characters and behaviors is astounding.  I would love to do research regarding how character education can influence that classroom community and surrounding school environment.

Visitors and Residents

When watching the video about the Visitor-Resident Principle, there were numerous aspects that resonated with me regarding my own personal use of technology.  I have always thought of my technology skills as that of a seasoned veteran, such as being able to problem-solve what to do when your computer freezes, my typing speed, etc.  However, I have not taking a close look about how I approach technology and how I interact with other people within the realms of various social networks.  

The Visitor-Resident Principle states that most people are not simply just a visitor or a resident, but are placed on an area within the continuum.  Just because someone may lean more toward the visitor side of the continuum does not mean that they are less skilled with regard to technology.  This simply means that they are more likely to use technology for more autonomous and private reasons and do not see the point in using social media for educational purposes.  Visitors also tend to critically assess whether the platform they're going to use will help them solve a problem.  None of these have to do with a person's skill level, but instead how they value technology and its purpose for communicating with others.  

Personally, I feel that I am closer to the resident side of the continuum regarding this principle, especially in an institutional setting.  For instance, I feel that social media sites such as Twitter have significant purposes with regard to how they can bring individuals together to communicate, especially as a new teacher who is always looking for new ideas.  I enjoy having an online persona that allows others to communicate and collaborate about particular topics, and try to keep this persona alive as much as possible.  However, although I do feel that I have more compatibility with the residents, I do feel that there are some parts of me that can be attributed to the visitor side of the spectrum, especially in a non-institutional setting.  For instance, when I am encountered by a new form of social media that I feel does not have to do with educational development, I typically will assess whether this will help me move forward and will usually want more privacy instead of extending my online persona.

Overall, I want to make sure that because I am more compatible with the residents, I am making sure that as a teacher I am being a resident facilitator who works along with them instead of an authority figure who simply tells them what to do. I also plan on moving forward with my online persona in order to effectively collaborate with other educators and use social media in the most efficient way possible to enhance my technological approach.

A Whole New Mind (Part 1)

When reading Part I (pg 7-61) of Pink's "A Whole New Mind," you should consider the following:
1. What is L-Directed and R-Directed Thinking? Does my subject require more of one than the other? How could I try and reach a balance?
L-Directed thinking is a form of thinking that is characteristic to the left side of the brain.  This includes analytic, sequential, functional, etc.  R-Directed thinking, on the other hand, is a form of thinking that is characteristic to the right brain.  This includes metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual, etc.  As an elementary school teacher, I teach numerous subjects such as writing, reading, math, science, and social studies.  I feel that each subject is different in its L- vs. R-directed thinking.  Math and science I feel has a much more R-Directed thinking stance because it requires more analysis and sequencing versus social studies and writing, which is much more L-Directed thinking due to its less linear methods of operation and more creative ways of thinking.

2. How do Abundance, Asia, and Automation affect the dominance of L-Directed thinking in business and schools?
Abundance affects the dominance of L-Directed thinking because when people buy too much, people throw away what they need.  So instead of focusing on what we logically need, we think about what is aesthetically pleasing, which is more appealing to R-brain thinking.  With Asia, there are L-brain workers overseas who are much more likely to get hired because it costs more to hire L-brained workers (i.e. engineers) from the United States.  Also, these workers use R-brain techniques such as forging relationships, which affects the dominance of L-directed thinking in business.  Automation affects the dominance of L-directed thinking because technology seems to be replacing human left brains.  Thus, this "boosts the significance of beauty and emotion, as well as accelerates individuals' search for meaning" (p. 46).

3. What is High Concept and High Touch. What is the impact of this on my teaching?
High concept is the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, detect patterns and opportunities, etc.  High touch is empathy, understanding subtleties of human interaction, etc.  These concepts greatly impact my teaching.  I try to make sure that as a teacher, I am not only having students understand educational concepts to enrich themselves as learners, but foster experiences that allow them to grow as people.  I want to make sure that I am utilizing both left brain and right brain concepts within my teaching.

4. What are the flaws of an education system that only values IQ? Is there also a role for EQ in education? 
The flaws of this type of educational system are that these only appeal to left brain learners.  This educational system does not seem to take personal characteristics and emotions into account and also value logic over emotion.  I feel that EQ is extremely important.  It drives the way a person expresses themselves and the way they learn, which is exponentially important because this determines how students learn in school.  I want to make sure that in my classroom, both logic and emotion are strongly embraced throughout the curriculum.

Communities of Learning for Educational Purposes

            As a new teacher, I feel that there is a plethora of knowledge to become acquainted with.   Within my PLN, it is helpful as a newcomer to the profession of teaching to gain numerous perspectives from veteran teachers regarding curriculum, behavior management, etc.  It is through Wenger’s theory of communities of practice that I am able to not only have these conversations with local teachers, but also teachers around the world.  The internet contains an endless supply of information at your fingertips.  As teachers, our passion for helping students is shared with millions of others, and because of the internet we can interact with those that have this same passion. 

            By accessing websites where teachers can discuss experiences, theories, and challenges, they are able to assist and learn from others who may be experiencing similar situations.  For me, this includes integrating technology into the classroom.  Being in the 21^st century, students are not only learning through the media of paper and pencils.  They are exposed to the internet as well as social media every day, so why not harness this knowledge and transform it into deeper learning for students? 

As teachers, we are able to reach out to others and make use of these communities of practice to help our students become 21^st century learners so that they can thrive in today’s society.  This 21^st century thinking relies on the 4 C’s: critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration.  Too often, teachers view technology and social media as hindrances to learning.  However, if we harness this power for good instead of evil and view it within the context of situated learning, we are more likely to engage students and foster deeper learning.  For instance, in the case of Twitter, teachers can either view this social media website as a distraction or a medium for collaboration (one of the 4 C’s).  Through this website, teachers can pose problems or facilitate group projects, and students can create their own communities of practice to work together to accomplish a common goal.

Unfortunately, however, there are always disadvantages when implementing systems such as situational learning within the classroom.  When being compared to the traditional school model, teachers need to be more extensively trained in order to be effective in fostering this deeper learning in order to give students the full context of what they are learning.  For instance, if a teacher is implementing Twitter into the classroom, they need to make sure that they are experts at this social media site in order to foster learning effectively.  Although having teachers be experts in each situated learning environment would be fantastic, it is not always practical compared to the traditional school model.

Although there are disadvantages to situated learning, I still feel that fully immersing a student in what they are learning is the best way for them to be engaged and thrive in the concepts that they are learning.  I am a strong believer in learning through experience, and this Constructivist mentality is one that I want to implement within my classroom throughout each subject and interwoven with technology.