Trying to think about what I have learned and the steps I have taken to reach my next goal in education is a challenge, but really taking the time to reflect and think about my experience thus far has given me the opportunity to discover what has really been a huge benefit to me both as a learner and an educator. I have had many Ah-ha moments as I have progressed through the years of my Master’s program. I have noticed a change in myself and my way of thinking. All of the classes I have taken allowed for me to learn and try new things, look through the eyes of others, and conduct research that helped me learn more and create a new mindset for myself.

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Prior to my time in this program, I had a certain negative outlook on education. I wasn’t negative in the traditional sense, but more negative towards the true impact I can have on students that I work with. I think this program really challenged me to think outside of my comfort zone and push me in a direction with my teaching to try new and creative ways to present the content. I tried to fully commit to every new idea taught to me not matter what my comfort level was with what I was expected to do for any course.

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Through the course of the program, I began with a concentration in math and science in the classroom, but as I progressed through the program and changed jobs, I felt that a leadership concentration would be much more beneficial to the trajectory of my career. With the classes I started taking in the first semesters of the program, I was able to learn many different ways to teach different subject and content areas. I had the luxury of practicing these different strategies in my own classroom with my own students. Each of these opportunities provided a platform for my own learning and development as a teacher. I was able to see what my students were learning and how they were learning, which then allowed me to change and alter my teaching to better suit each individual student in my classroom.

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After my time in the classroom, I made a move into administration and this is when I decided to change my concentration to educational leadership. I have always known I wanted to be in administration, but I didn’t realize I would have the opportunity to move into administration when I did. Along with the change in concentration came a change in the courses I decided to take. I thought that more courses focused on my abilities to be a leader in the school for teachers and students was extremely important to me. I took courses that not only worked on my leadership skills, but also courses that provided me with an opportunity to focus on the students and the population of my students and their families. I learned the best ways to communicate with my students and their families. I was also able to learn and research about different issues across the country and the history of education in the United States.

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Considering the many different courses I had the opportunity to take, I feel I gained a lot from each course individually. I utilized what I was learning in the courses and had the chance to put it into action in the classroom. For example, in my course “Inquiry, Nature of Science” I had to not only ask challenging questions to my students, but I had to think of new ways to engage them in the content using a hands-on approach. This course really hit home for me because I truly believe in finding new ways to approach teaching and learning in the classroom. This course in particular really gave me more tools to use, such as the new science standards, to address the change occurring in the nation along the lines of science in schools.

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Along with “Inquiry, Nature of Science” I took “Teaching Science for Understanding.” This class offered a different challenge for me because I needed to look at students in a different light. Rather than just teaching them in different and more engaging ways, I had to develop and ask questions that created an environment for my students to deeply understand the content. For example, in this course I had to interview students on their understanding of science concepts. With no prior knowledge of the content, I had to try to gauge questions to them that guided them to answers rather than telling them the answers. This course gave me the opportunity to create questions in science that made my students think more critically, but it also gave me a platform to start thinking how better to ask questions in other content areas as well.

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Both of these courses gave me a push to try new things in the classroom and also gave me the tools I needed to be successful in attempting new ideas and concepts in my classroom. With the science standards appearing to be changing in the coming years, these two courses worked really well with one another. Each course covered their own content, but the content I learned in “Inquiry, Nature of Science” gave me a great base to start from in “Teaching Science for Understanding.”

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Moving into an administrative role gave me a new perspective on education. I felt that I should take some different courses to help me grow in the new position I decided to pursue. One of the courses I took was called “Leadership and Organizational Development.” This class was not only for education majors, but was taken by students with many different concentrations. This course forced me to look at organizations a different way. I had to put myself in the shoes of the leaders of my organization and identify challenges within the organization. This was a challenge for me to think in the shoes of the leaders in my school without knowing all of the information they had to lead the school. Thinking back about this course, it was one of my more challenging courses for me, but also a course that taught me so much. Aside from just identifying problems within my school, I also studied different types of leaders and different types of leadership personalities. Reflecting back on the readings from this course, I was able to determine my own personality as a leader and also some aspect of being a leader that I would like. For example, one personality of a leader that I read about was the passive leader. This type of leader allows those they lead to take more control rather than using their position to help guide those they lead. I felt that there were times I related to this type, but I knew I needed to be more of a firm leader. ​

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Being in an administrative role, I knew I would have to interact with many different students and many different families. I decided that one course that would be a great benefit to me would be “Educating Children with Challenging Behavior.” This course consisted of a lot of analyzing different behaviors students can exhibit in the classroom. But aside from just the students in the classroom, it also gave tools on how to approach the families of the students as well. One really important aspect of this course that helped me and challenged me was identifying one student with a challenging behavior and working specifically with that student and the student’s family to help them be more successful in the classroom. This class forced me to interact with a student on a more personal level. It allowed me to get to know the student and it also allowed for the student to get to know me. This type of relationship is truly special and critical for the success of both teacher and student. Without this course, I would never have had the opportunity to make the connections I did with the student and their family.

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Finally, another course that really stood out to me in the program was called “Engaging with Diverse Students and Families.” This course taught me how best to interact appropriately with students and families from all different backgrounds. For example, I conducted research for this course that helped me realize and understand that each student is different in a variety of ways. I may not know exactly what that student is going through at school or at home and that I must be sensitive to both and not push any students away. Looking back, this course gave me more tools than I initially realized such as the ability to be sensitive to all students. In my career, I have had students of many different cultures, socio-economic statuses, and ethnicities and regardless of where each student fall, it did not determine the challenges that each student may have. Also, this course provided an opportunity for me to compare different ways that institutions target different demographics of students. For example, in one excerpt from an article I read that some high schools provide tracking for their students and that the breakdown of the tracks for students depended tremendously on race. When thinking back on this course and what it opened my eyes to, I was shocked and scared at in what direction our country has been heading. To see that there is still so much segregation happening, but that it is covered up by the way that some school districts are choosing to track students towards different post high school opportunities is astounding.

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Now that my program has come to an end, I notice that I have changed in my thoughts about education. I have seen education as a teacher and I have seen education as an administrator and I have changed some of my viewpoints on educations. For example, as a teacher, I felt that the administration was much more behind the scenes and hands-off in a school setting and now I realize that behind the scenes does not mean hands-off. I have done the same amount of work out of the classroom as I did in the classroom and it just has had a different effect on the students and the teachers.

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I also thought that some students just couldn’t learn without certain stipulations or accommodations in place. While I do believe that there are

students that need accommodations tremendously, I also believe now that all students can learn and more importantly that all students deserve the right to a great education. Prior to this program, I had a very fixed mindset on students and whether or not I could change their lives, but now I see that I can change the lives of many students as a teacher or an administrator.

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Moving forward from this program, I know that what I have learned will help me tremendously. I wish to become a principal in the future and all of the courses I have taken helped create a skill set that will be very useful as I learn to lead teachers and students alike. Learning from this program has laid a great foundation that will serve me well in the future. I will be able to look back on the many different courses I have taken and help me figure out how to solve new challenges as they come up.

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This program has also allowed me to look at myself as a learner. Not only do I wish to become a principal, but I am also planning to continue my education and pursing my doctorate in education. Having the opportunity to go through the Masters of Arts in Education program with Michigan State University gave me a perspective on the type of learner I am and how I can continue to improve my learning style to make sure that my development as a learner also impacts me as a professional educator for life.