Thing 1: Lifelong Learning
I was not able to watch the online tutorial on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective people as the link did not work, but the summary of these habits was enlightening. The easiest of these habits for me is being Proactive. If I foresee a problem, I don't wait for other people to solve it. If I see that change needs to occur, I move in the direction of that change. The area where I struggle, however, is "putting first things first," which I interpret as prioritizing actions. Though I consider myself proactive, I have a hard time balancing areas of my life, and even though I know it is important to take care of "a,b,c" before I get to "x,y,z," I'm not always good at making that happen.
One of the reasons that I am in graduate school is because I believe in lifelong learning. I don't want to stagnate, and I think that there is always room to grow as an educator; moreover, to stay relevant, a person needs to continue to change with the times. I think it's helpful to look at myself through the lense of these 7 Habits and to apply them to my lifelong learning goals. In terms of being proactive and "putting first things first," I think that while I should continue to explore- through research and through all that I have learned in my graduate program- where education is going, I should be careful not to get in over my head. For example, sometimes I become so excited about/involved in researching new web 2.0 tools and planning how I can implement them in my curricula, that I put aside what I need to take care of first--the lesson plans, the grading, etc. I need to make sure I can see the forest for the trees as I continue my path of lifelong learning in the area of instructional technology in the classroom.
In my Learning Contract, I outline how I am going to continue to learn and improve my teaching by researching, using, and evaluating different web 2.0 tools; however, recognizing that I need to be careful not to get in over my head, I also spaced out my "tasks" so that I do not try to try out a new tool but every two weeks.
Kate, I agree with your comment about becoming stagnate or complacent. That was exactly how I was feeling when the grad school opportunity came across my email. I felt deep inside that I should be doing something more and there it was and here I am. I am really enjoying the new learning and I, too, get so caught up in the technology aspect before the planning. We can do this! thanks!
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