Timeless Goals with Ever-Evolving Teaching Practices

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After graduating with my bachelor’s degree in 2016, I taught for three full years in the Chicago Public Schools district. During this time, I realized the multitude of content and pedagogical areas that could be improved with my instruction. During these three years, I also began to realize the significance of a strong literacy program. This is when I decided it was time to return to school and specialize in literacy. I began the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program in September of 2020. Although this was only a year ago, it feels as though I have evolved significantly throughout the past year. In reviewing my initial program goals, I believe many of these goals still stand. The initial goals in my original statement include:

I want to strengthen my practice in teaching literacy, not only in the primary grades but throughout all grades K – 8.
I would like to focus on the best modes of attaining student engagement while also effectively teaching core content.
I want to continue to keep up to date with the best teaching practices so that everything I do is intentional and best serves my students.

Throughout the MAED program, I took courses that taught current best practices in science, math, literacy, and technology. As I reflect on these three goals and the courses I took, I realize that all three of my goals should be consolidated into one concise goal. That is, I want to learn and utilize current best practices in all teaching content areas to best serve my students. Although I still believe a strong literacy program should be at the forefront of a teacher's agenda, I also realize that it is important to stay current on all subject matter instruction, not just literacy. Goals number one and three are synonymous with each other. By keeping up to date with the best teaching practices, I am strengthening my teaching of literacy and there is no need to highlight literacy specifically. Additionally, I found that by staying up to date on current teaching best practices, student engagement is also increased. Therefore, my second goal listed is also encompassed within one concise goal. Therefore, by staying up to date on current best practices in all subject matter my overall teaching would be strengthened along with student engagement.

To me, the new goal I set will stay the same throughout the entirety of my career because it involves constantly keeping up with new educational trends. Understanding that these best practices will continue to change means understanding that my goal will never go away as I continue to keep up with evolving teaching practices. This goal then becomes timeless through my teaching career as it highlights the need to always learn more about teaching practices and pedagogical approaches that encompass all content areas such as literacy, math, technology, SEL, science, social studies, and age-appropriate strategies.