Danielle McLean
What The Future Holds......
My Future as a Learner
By: Danielle McLean
Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. ~John Cotton Dana
Every member in my immediate family has a higher degree, so it was only natural for me to want to get a master's degree. It is strange to think that the past few years of hard work and late nights are almost over. Being a teacher and a student has been my life for so long it will be odd to not be a student anymore. As I finish my work at Michigan State University, I begin to think about my future as a lifelong learner.
Ever since I was in middle school, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I was struck by how professional and knowledgeable my teachers were. My teachers were people that were wonderful role models and people that I strived to be like as an adult. It became my goal not just to get a teaching degree, but to obtain the tools I needed to be the best teacher that I could. My mom is also a teacher and has two master's degrees and constantly attends workshops and conferences. She has been teaching for over thirty years and still continues to find new ways to improve her teaching skills. This made me realize that most teachers are never really done learning. After I got my first teaching job as a biology teacher, I decided to go back to school and get my master's degree through Michigan State University. I was apprehensive about taking classes due to my limited time available for classes. I chose the online MSU MAED program because I could still teach, coach, and take classes. It is important to me that my students and collogues view me as knowledgeable and professional, so the end of the MAED program does not mean the end of my education.
The Michigan State MAED program has really made me more confident in the classroom. When I look back though my binders and lesson plans from previous years and compare them to lesson plans from this year, I am proud to say I have grown as a teacher. The concepts and teaching techniques that I learned in my classes are things that I have incorporated into my teaching. One of the things that I am most proud of and would like to continue working on is using inquiry based activities and labs in my classes. Seeing my growth as a teacher has made me determined to continue to research current ideas in education and in science. There are several workshops that I have interest in attending to remain up to date in the latest ideas in education.
Now that I am almost done with the MAED program, I am starting to think about what is next. I am a firm believer that teachers are constantly learning and that is important to remember what it is like to be a student. Although I am not planning on taking any more formal classes at the moment, I would be interested in continuing my education in technology through workshops. I am not very knowledgeable in newer forms of technology such as I pads. One of my goals is to attend several seminars and conferences on technology offered through my district. Students today are extremely tech savvy, so I would like to learn more about technology so that I can incorporate it into my lessons. One specific thing I would like to learn more about is using hand-held clickers for students to answer questions. This would be a great tool to use to immediately analyze student responses and use the feedback to adjust the lesson if necessary.
I would like to be viewed by my colleagues and by my students as a knowledgeable professional who is dedicated to being an effective teacher. Although I will not be taking any more formal classes though a university in the near future, I will be attending workshops on technology and I would be interested in getting a master's degree in biology someday. Overall, I am very proud of the work I accomplished and the tools I acquired through the Michigan State MAED program. Whether I ever go back to school or not, I will continue to learn new ways to be a more effective teacher.
My Future as a Learner
By: Danielle McLean
Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. ~John Cotton Dana
Every member in my immediate family has a higher degree, so it was only natural for me to want to get a master's degree. It is strange to think that the past few years of hard work and late nights are almost over. Being a teacher and a student has been my life for so long it will be odd to not be a student anymore. As I finish my work at Michigan State University, I begin to think about my future as a lifelong learner.
Ever since I was in middle school, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I was struck by how professional and knowledgeable my teachers were. My teachers were people that were wonderful role models and people that I strived to be like as an adult. It became my goal not just to get a teaching degree, but to obtain the tools I needed to be the best teacher that I could. My mom is also a teacher and has two master's degrees and constantly attends workshops and conferences. She has been teaching for over thirty years and still continues to find new ways to improve her teaching skills. This made me realize that most teachers are never really done learning. After I got my first teaching job as a biology teacher, I decided to go back to school and get my master's degree through Michigan State University. I was apprehensive about taking classes due to my limited time available for classes. I chose the online MSU MAED program because I could still teach, coach, and take classes. It is important to me that my students and collogues view me as knowledgeable and professional, so the end of the MAED program does not mean the end of my education.
The Michigan State MAED program has really made me more confident in the classroom. When I look back though my binders and lesson plans from previous years and compare them to lesson plans from this year, I am proud to say I have grown as a teacher. The concepts and teaching techniques that I learned in my classes are things that I have incorporated into my teaching. One of the things that I am most proud of and would like to continue working on is using inquiry based activities and labs in my classes. Seeing my growth as a teacher has made me determined to continue to research current ideas in education and in science. There are several workshops that I have interest in attending to remain up to date in the latest ideas in education.
Now that I am almost done with the MAED program, I am starting to think about what is next. I am a firm believer that teachers are constantly learning and that is important to remember what it is like to be a student. Although I am not planning on taking any more formal classes at the moment, I would be interested in continuing my education in technology through workshops. I am not very knowledgeable in newer forms of technology such as I pads. One of my goals is to attend several seminars and conferences on technology offered through my district. Students today are extremely tech savvy, so I would like to learn more about technology so that I can incorporate it into my lessons. One specific thing I would like to learn more about is using hand-held clickers for students to answer questions. This would be a great tool to use to immediately analyze student responses and use the feedback to adjust the lesson if necessary.
I would like to be viewed by my colleagues and by my students as a knowledgeable professional who is dedicated to being an effective teacher. Although I will not be taking any more formal classes though a university in the near future, I will be attending workshops on technology and I would be interested in getting a master's degree in biology someday. Overall, I am very proud of the work I accomplished and the tools I acquired through the Michigan State MAED program. Whether I ever go back to school or not, I will continue to learn new ways to be a more effective teacher.
