As an educator, I have spent the greater part of my life facilitating and supporting others as they learn and grow. It is my life’s work. But continuing to learn and grow myself, is also a pillar of my life.
Over the years, that has manifest itself through formal classes like when I was pursuing my graduate degrees, and informally when attending professional conferences. It has sometimes happened strategically, like when I seek out, select, and apply to specific Summer Teacher Institutes because I want to expand that area of my knowledge. Or more informally, like my commitment to attend regular writing workshops to grow my skill.
And sometimes the opportunity to learn and grown sneaks up on you.
This week begins the Spring 2025 semester at the University where I have been teaching for more than 20 years. As an adjunct professor, I have taught 4 different classes there over the years, depending on the semester and where they need instructors.
The class I am teaching this semester is one I have taught nearly every semester for the last 6 years. However, this year, I feel like it is the first time all over again. And that is because, as typically happens in education, the course has been deeply revised to keep up with current research, pedagogy, and resources.
I met a few weeks ago with the professor who created the course and she shared her revisions with me. Some were superficial and involved some slight shifts in focus. Some were changes that had organically been shifting in our instruction. Some were substitutions for resources that were no longer available or valid. And there were a couple that were in the category of enormous changes. Because one is technology based, it is totally outside of my comfort zone.
That is the one I am most committed to implementing this semester. So, I will be learning along with my students this semester. I will be putting in the hours ahead of time to learn what I need to in order to implement the tool in my instruction. I will be learning during the implementation process, as inevitable glitches and bumps arise. And I will learn when the semester is over and I reflect on how it went.
As typically happens at the start of each new calendar year, there are many people who are starting this month with new activities that they are hoping will bring a positive impact to the quality of their life. They are learning and growing. Statistics tell us that most will not sustain this learning more than a month of so.
` Based on my experience as a life-long educator and learner, there are a few easy steps that can increase your chance of success.
- Put in the work!
- Be curious and open-minded.
- Be gracious when failure happens.
- Celebrate small victories.
Let’s make 2025 the Year of Learning and Growing!
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