Education 6711 Reflection

As I reflect upon my personal theory of learning, I am still convinced that following Bloom's Taxonomy is the correct path for me. Pavil's Dual Coding Hypothesis and Cognitivism also appeal to my teaching style and personal philosophy. I think that I have always taught with these philosophies, I just had never given them a name or thought about their academic importance.

I have recently made some adjustments to my instructional practice, but I need more time to evaluate their effects. In the past 8 months, I have incorporated wikis and online concept mapping into my classroom instruction. Overall, I consider them to be effective tools and my students are producing work in an efficient, comprehensive manner. I believe that I am still following Bloom's Taxonomy but I am incorporating dual coding into my lessons.

The two long term goals that I would like to make to my instructional practice regarding technology integration include the use of audio and video in student projects and incorporating blogging into my wikis. The first goal, utilizing more video and audio in student projects, can be achieved with most digital video and audio devices. Software programs, such as Voicethread, might also help my students to create multimedia style productions. My second goal may be a little more difficult. Blogging is not permitted in our district, so I will have to find a safe, controlled environment program to sell to my administration. Hopefully, they will allow me to test it out with one of my classes and see that the benefits of blogging outweigh the negatives. With a little luck, I may be able to change some of the thinking in my school and district. I will try to remain optimistic.

This course has introduced some new tools to me and helped me to think about things in new ways. I have already started to use many of the techniques in my classroom and my students are the benefactors. Incorporating teaching philosophy in practical, useful ways is a good way for me to transfer what I have learned into the classroom. It has definitely had a positive effect on my teaching.