Revising Your GAME Plan

From my original GAME plan, I have learned many new practices that I will be able to use in my classroom in future years. Most importantly, I have gather some key resources that will help me teach my students about digital citizenship and etiquette. I have also adapted to a broader sense of what assessment is and therefore have been able to utilize a wider variety of assessments. I am much more likely to offer my students options for assessment at the end of a unit. I want them to choose the method that they feel most comfortable with and fits their learning style best.

The new goal that I have set for myself come from the NETS-T list of performance indicators for teachers. My next goal will be to continue to improve my skills as a professional. More specifically, I will focus on item 5c (ISTE, 2008): "evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital
tools and resources in support of student learning." This will include staying up to date on research and implementing new ideas into my planning. I will also strive to make technology a constant piece of student activities and assessments.

I believe that I achieve my previous goals because I set realistic expectations of myself and used methods that were comfortable for me. I most used the course textbook and internet resources to find the information that I needed. I also visited some great blogs and discussions that offered some differing perspectives and interesting ideas. Because this method worked well for me previously, I am going to rely on it again to achieve my next goal of continuing my professional development. In some preliminary internet searches, I have already found a variety of resources about professional development for teachers. This has already helped me narrow my goal to focusing more on reflection for the moment. I found this website to be of particular interest for reflective practices. If I continue to peruse the reflective process, I will modify my teaching style and improve my effectiveness as an educator. "As a reflective learner, you will think about what has been effective in the past, but also continually monitor and evaluate what is effective for you now" (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 11).

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach . (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

http://webserver3.ascd.org/ossd/reflection.html