The education blog @mrjacksondotca
Education is learning science - m.ed. capstone project
Sunday, 29 March, 2015
The role of an educator cannot be static. In a constantly changing world, and a consistently progressive educational landscape, preparing students for what may lie ahead looks different from day to day. Consider that students entering the education system this year will graduate from grade 12 in a world with an additional one billion people living on the planet (B. Rodrigues, personal communication, January 12, 2015). Classroom learning will be messy, and often non-linear as educators challenge students to think critically and deeply. So what is education really about then? I’ve discovered that:
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✓Education is about theory, practice and reflection.
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✓Education is about research.
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✓Education is about differentiation.
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✓Education is about collaboration.
My journey through the M.Ed. program for the past three years has been about changing my thinking and honing my teaching practice by considering the four tenants above as central to the role of an educator. And by altering my conception of what education looks like, I’ve stumbled upon the necessity to change my idea of what an educator is.
This final project, or capstone, highlights my thinking and learning over the past three years in the Master of Education program at Wilfrid Laurier University. Aligning with four program goals and tied closely to a new model of the 21st Century Educator, the narratives within discuss the changing face of education. My thoughts regarding theory, practice and reflection, research, differentiation and collaboration are explored and examined within the context of the learning sciences where the student is at the centre of education.
As a part of a project for a course in the final year of this program, a colleague and I developed a model explaining the role of a 21st Century educator (Jackson & Loebsack, 2014). For the purpose of this introduction, I present the model simply for your consideration, with little explanation. My goal in this final capstone project is to explain each of the four tenants above, their connections to our model and the program goals for the M.Ed. program, by linking them with specific artifacts in order to demonstrate my thoughts on progressive education, and a direction for the future of my practice. I’m excited to share this experience.
Click each box to read the narrative
