Educational Platform and Learning Theory - Assignment Example

? Professional Portfolio Overview In this report, I will intend to present a professional portfolio, i.e. a structured compilation of appropriate documents as well as other objects that would depict my talents, skills along with other aspects of professional growth. It can be created as well as utilized for any particular discipline or profession comprising of teaching and nursing among others. In precise, it can be depicted that a professional portfolio is a means through which one can examine, as well, can evaluate various growth potentialities of their professional career (DiLisio, 2013). Correspondingly, I would provide a structured portfolio of mine, where I will include a brief description of my educational platform, learning theory along with curriculum map and the use of tools that I have initiated throughout the course of my learning as an educator. Professional Portfolio Educational Platform and Learning Theory Education is one of the most vital aspects of growth for any individual. Understanding the value of learning as the cornerstone of a successful life, individuals from various age groups and demographics have started taking participation in the educational sector. In this regard, the role of an educator has become quite prominent over the years owing to their significance in forming the educational career of an individual. As an educator, I feel esteemed to be rewarded with the opportunity to assist learners in developing their skills and abilities with regard to their competent areas. Correspondingly, in my professional experience, I was able to learn that an ideal educator is of extreme need to develop the skills and capabilities that might be in need to provide a proper learning experience to the students. In consideration to all these facets, I desire myself to be in a professional career associated with education. I expect my professional desire to be supported by the facts that I always seek to read, learn as well as share my knowledge with others. In the field of providing education, every year there are fresh set of students to whom I need to provide an appropriate educational platform, where he/she can shape and mould his/her future. This aspect of the teaching profession excites me the most where every day offers new challenges to deal with, which I feel to substantially ignite one’s ability and skills. Additionally, with reference to my desire of becoming an educator will always intend towards maintaining an atmosphere, which will encourage maximum concentration amid the learners and facilitate effective learning in-turn. It would also be vital to mention that I am quite appreciative towards adopting proper learning theories that would allow me to have proper control over the learning capabilities of the students. As per my experience, adoption of effective learning theory is quite important to facilitate learners’ effective performance. Out of the various principles of learning, I prefer Readiness, which depicts that a learner can be able to learn more when he/she is physically, mentally, as well as emotionally deciphers the yearning to learn. Correspondingly, adoption of such theory requires me to create interest among the students by presenting the value of a particular topic or a subject matter. In my professional career, I also emphasize posing continuous mental as well as physical challenges, with the intention to keep the learners’ interests intact for a longer period of time. Curriculum Map and Assessment Strategy Based on my personal and professional experiences, I was able to understand that setting efficient curriculum is among the major needs in the field of education. Educational institutions all over the world have well identified the needs to develop an effective curriculum where learners would be able to perform better. Correspondingly, the role of an educator is also vital in such cases. I, as an educator, understand this particular facet in my role and ensure best possible contribution towards the same. I was mainly engaged with the Master of Education program in my tenure with the Strayer University. I consider it as a learning experience where I had the privilege to deal with various curriculum activities that enhanced my ability as an educator. In my association with the university, I have come to witness about the various aspects that are considered while initiating curriculum setting for various groups of students as well as educators based on their skills, abilities as well as need for learning. It would be worth mentioning in this regard that the curriculum setting, in the Master of Education program in the Strayer University, provided ample assistance and developed my skills, which further made it easier for me to develop efficient interpersonal relationship with my students. Furthermore, the curriculum map also proved to be an effective means of learning for me, where I came to know about the various facets that are considered while designing curriculum for the students in the field of education. I have also come to depict about the implementation of assessment instruments in curriculum setting. In this regard, the examples of assessment strategies or instruments such as Performance-Based Strategy as well as behavioral strategy would be vital to consider. Through Performance-Based Strategy, the capability of the students is judged on the basis of the outcomes generated from the various tasks they perform. On the other hand, through behavioral strategy, educators would assess the behavior of the students while they are assigned with a particular task and emerge with the concluding analysis (International Bureau of Education, 2013). Using Technology Tools and Media Example Using technology is one the vital components that are widely being implemented in context of the modern day educational environment. In my professional career, I strongly felt that in the 21st century, educators need to have the skills as well as the capabilities to implement technology in the course of their teaching. In my tenure with the Strayer University, I was able to identify the various promising aspects of technology as associated with education. In this regard, innovations in educational technology, encompassing online education and the use multimedia, can be denoted as the most credited aspects of technological advancement in the field of education. The use of multimedia in teaching comprises of projector, PowerPoint slides as well as other electronic displays, which I have often intended to use in the classroom. Through the implementation of these technologies, I was able to keep the interest of the students intact towards the topic, making it more attractive and comprehensible for my learners. Moreover, it also assisted me with the opportunity to develop an inter-personal understanding and interaction with the students, which further enhanced my abilities to recognize the limitations, learning needs and strengths of individual students in my class. Besides, there were certain other technologies that I intended to adopt in my professional experience as an educator. For instance, I could learn the use of plan board while teaching in my professional career. This technology enabled me to organize the lessons that I was going to conduct in a particular day. Furthermore, I also implemented the technology of Google Education in my teaching. As I was able to observe, it offers educators with a number of useful edtech comprising of email along with collaborative apps as well as lesson plan search among others (Writer, 2012). Plan for Professional Development As mentioned in the above section of the portfolio, in course of becoming an educator, I learnt about various aspects including strategies as well as technologies that can enhance the effectiveness of teaching. However, there are still certain aspects that I need to learn in order to ensure sustainability in the desired career of teaching. The Masters in Education program is one of the most vital as well as challenging educational programs that I have came across throughout my tenure as an educator. It would be crucial to mention that those who seek to develop a career in education will need to acquire a master degree, which will be essential to develop certain essential skills and knowledge that would help an individual in his/her professional development. With regard to accomplish my goal towards becoming an educator, I primarily adopted two courses comprising of seminars in Teacher Leadership program and Leadership in Global Education program. These courses allowed me to develop my skills and knowledge that certainly proved helpful for me to take a step further towards a promising professional career in the education sector. I was completely aware of the facets that the job of a mentor or an educator is quite a crucial one as it involves the responsibility to mould as well as shape the future of individual learners. Owing to this critical aspect, I took up the seminar course, which aims towards igniting the sense of purpose and divinity among the teachers towards their responsibility. Furthermore, the leadership seminar course would also enable me to understand about the facets of organizing various aspects of leadership in the education sector. Participation in this seminar would certainly enhance my skills as a teacher with additional incorporation of various leadership capabilities. Furthermore, towards my professional development, I also pursued the course of Leadership in Global education, which further enabled me to understand the significance of various cultures and thereby enhance my ability of teaching, especially when dealing with students from diverse cultures. Hence, it can be affirmed that the two courses, I have adopted towards developing my professional desire of becoming an educator were quite effective with regard to acquiring maximum knowledge and skills. This approach of mine ensured a step further for me towards becoming an educator in my professional life. References DiLisio, J. E. (2013). Creating your professional portfolio. Retrieved from http://wvw.ufh.ac.za/centres-and-institutes/files/tlc/policy/PortfolioPrep.pdf International Bureau of Education. (2013). Curriculum evaluation and assessment. Retrieved from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/COPs/Pages_documents/Resource_Packs/TTCD/sitemap/Module_8/Module_8.html Writer, G. (2012). 50 Education technology tools every teacher should know about. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/2012/08/50-education-technology-tools-every-teacher-should-know-about/ Read More

 

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