This was the first course I took that introduced me to how MAET courses would generally be set up. I reflected on readings about what 21st century learning entails, shared ideas with peers via Flipgrid, showcased work through blogging, and was given opportunities to learn from mistakes and improve assignments. Collaboration was a key element in assignments and use of different types of resources was encouraged. The course was set up in such a way that students could learn at their own pace and use as many resources as they needed, not what the professor decided they needed.

Some problems have simple solutions. Wicked problems have no solutions, but it does not stop educators from coming up with best bad solutions. Education is full of wicked problems, and throughout this course, I learned how to approach wicked problems and explored some of the problems that I want to tackle. We read A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger, which encouraged deep, imaginative questioning, and I began wondering how we could shift from a culture of standardized testing to one of inquiry-driven learning.

Learning is a different experience for novice and expert learners. In this course, we delved into the differences between the two types of learners and how we as educators must choose tools that best support the learning task, and not the other way around. 21st century learners have a variety of tools available at their fingertips and can learn new skills and ideas independently. I was able to learn how to write calligraphy from a simple combination of Youtube videos and blogs. So what role should educators play in the 21st century classroom? This is the question that we explored throughout this course.

Creating a meaningful assessment requires consideration of many aspects. In this course, we explored what those aspects are and developed an assessment design checklist that teachers can reference to determine if the assessment they are creating has all of the main components of a quality assessment. We went through several iterations of providing actionable feedback and making changes based on that feedback, much like what students should be encouraged to do with the feedback they receive from assessments.

Knowing about technology and utilizing it in my classroom only scratches the surface of the impact I can have as an educator. This course encouraged us to dream big and create a vision for how we could have a larger impact. I developed a technology vision for my school, imagined how I could approach my administration about this vision, and collaborated with one of my peers to create a teacher PD that would be the start of that vision. We also tackled how to approach thorny issues that crop up with technology, like addressing social media in schools, with information backed up by research.

I completed an independent study by participating in a mini-MOOC (massive open online course) on remote teaching. The timing of this MOOC was perfect - the pandemic had just thrown me into remote teaching full time, so it was an incredible experience being able to learn from and share ideas with fellow teachers from all around the world in the same position. Completing this independent study was different from taking other courses since I had to complete all of the work individually and then received feedback at the end, but my advisor provided a really insightful perspective that helped me finish out the year strong.

Research is both an art and a science. Collecting any kind of information is not enough. Researchers have to perfect the art of collecting quality information that provides actual insight into the question(s) that they are trying to answer. In this course, I learned about the various biases that can be found in surveys and grew an appreciation for and awareness of well thought out surveys. I was also able to step into the shoes of an interviewer looking to gather information to answer a research question, and became sensitive to the importance of wording and developing a trusting relationship with the interviewee.

All teachers are not delivering content through the same platforms and materials. Every teacher designs their instruction through each choice they make about their classroom structure, the resources they use, as well as a myriad of other aspects of their craft. This course breaks down the approach to design into a manageable process that encourages continual improvement. After identifying a problem of practice and spending time empathizing with my students, I came up with a variety of ideas for solutions, created and tested a prototype of my solution, and came away with further ideas for improvement.

This capstone course walked me through each step of the online portfolio creation process. Designing a cohesive, professional online website requires attention to detail in not just content, but also design. I worked with my peers and professors each week in providing both positive and constructive feedback and making changes based on that feedback.

The creation of an online course that fosters a sense of a community, responsibility, is user friendly, and is effective at delivering content is not a simple process. Throughout this course, I explored the various types of online courses available, the benefits of each, and created an online course through Google Classroom that suited my needs as a middle school math teacher. I included various types of media, made sure to add collaborative components, and learned about the different ways I could connect with students virtually and asynchronously.