I crossed the river. My last holiday reflection.

This experience has motivated me to identify the key concepts necessary for a new culture of learning, especially in light of innovative approaches like blended learning. I will explore the challenges of adopting this new perspective and consider how it can be feasibly implemented.

As I developed my learning philosophy, I realized that I needed to examine many of my behaviors as an educator. This process helped me to identify many of the beliefs I held about education and learning, which I now understand must continue to evolve for the benefit of my students and the achievement of their goals. I recognized that I have a more humanistic approach to teaching and learning (Learning Theories, 2020). Humanism is a philosophy that values learning as a personal act of developing one's potential by studying the person and their motivations. This approach prioritizes objectives that align with a student's interests.

As part of my efforts to transform the culture and learning environments for my students and fellow teachers, I initiated an alternative Professional Learning (PL) call to action. The best way to create a better learning environment for your students is to search for one that aligns with your professional needs.

In this call to action, I proposed changing the conversation around training delivery in school districts. My vision includes developing five principles of effective professional development - a why and a what. This brief moment presents an opportunity to reevaluate, redefine, and reinvent, and communicate my ideas, ultimately changing the conversation for my personal and professional growth.

While creating my objectives, I found the development and alignment of results to be the most challenging aspect. As a primary school teacher with only two years of experience, it was not easy to understand the best way to develop the objectives and what I needed to achieve. However, the three-column table and the Udb Framework were beneficial tools that have benefited me daily. Despite still struggling with this process, I am grateful for the assistance that I have received.

During the past two topics, my colleagues Adriana, Iliana, and Vitalia have immensely supported me. Their experiences and knowledge have been enlightening, and group discussions have helped me clarify concepts and understand different viewpoints. Hearing my classmates' opinions has been a source of satisfaction. These two topics have been challenging, but they have also helped me develop as a person.

During our weekly meetings, my colleagues and I achieved significant results. By sharing knowledge about each other's projects, we were able to develop and plan an alternative Professional Learning (PL) program. We supported each other by adapting the program to fit our projects, and we even developed a proposal for up to 50 hours of teacher training. This was an impressive achievement, as we had never seen anything like it in our experience as teachers. By addressing professional gaps in our daily lives, we were able to construct a valuable project.

I rate myself a 98/100 for the 5313 Creating a Significant Learning Environment course. My participation was high, but I unfortunately commented late on one discussion because I confused it with another. Despite this, I attended almost all the classes, collaborated well with my team, and completed all tasks on time satisfactorily. Overall, I am satisfied with my learning outcomes.

I scored 94/100 in the 5389 "Development Effective Professional Learning" subject, which initially took me some time to comprehend. It may be due to my lack of experience leading projects and adapting objectives. However, I must acknowledge that my team played a crucial role in encouraging and guiding me, particularly during the first assignment. Due to work commitments, I could not attend all the class calls. However, I read and participated in every discussion and contribution. I also completed all the assignments and complied with the alignment of each. Overall, this subject was enriching and helped me improve my knowledge and professional learning.

Let's continue developing our learning for the next year! Let's take a breath and have a happy holiday.

References:

Thomas, D. (2012). A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas at TEDxUFM. In TEDx Talks. (Ed.), YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM80GXlyX0U

Learning theories. (2020, March 3). Humanism - Learning Theories. Https://Learning-Theories.com. https://learning-theories.com/humanism.html#contributors

Gulamhussein, A., & Center For Public Education. (2013, September).

Teaching_Effective_Professional_Developmt.pdf. Dropbox. https://www.dropbox.com/s/

j13c5mk092kmqv9/Teaching_Effective_Professional_Developmt.pdf?dl=0

TNTP. (2015a, August 4). The Mirage. Tntp.org. https://tntp.org/publications/view/evaluation-

and-development/the-mirage-confronting-the-truth-about-our-quest-for-teacher-development

TNTP. (2015b). The mirage, confronting the hard truth about our quest for teaching

development. In TNTP Reimagined Teaching. https://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTP-

Mirage_2015.pdf ‌