COVA Reflection and Application
Reflection
Change is the process a person must work through when undergoing a transformation, transition, or substitution (Merriam Webster, n.d.). In order to fully evolve and develop, an individual is often tasked with a long series of trials and check points necessary for adaption. This avenue of progression is commonly referred to as a journey. When reaching the end of a journey, it is of the utmost importance for an individual to reflect on how far they have come, the obstacles they have worked through, and the changes or growth they have experienced along the way. Failure to acknowledge this important step in the course can lead to the absence of one’s self-realization of gains and forward movement.
As I near the finish line of Lamar University’s Digital Learning and Leading program, it is necessary for me to stop and think back on where I am and what I have done over the last eighteen months. From the creation of an ePortfolio, to the construction of an innovation plan, to the writing of literature reviews, to staff development planning, to building courses in a learning management system, and learning how to influence and move other educators in line with the changes I am proposing; it has been a challenging yet fulfilling adventure with many life-changing takeaways. While considering the elements and determining which is most meaningful to me, I would have to say the COVA approach has been the most powerful. It is the vehicle by which the bulk of my transformation took place.
Lamar University’s COVA approach to learning is a philosophy that is rooted in the simplicity of Choice, Ownership, and Voice, through Authentic learning opportunities. I first realized that I had the luxury of choice, ownership, and voice when I created my ePortfolio at the beginning of this program. It would have been easier for the instructor to tell us which platform to use, provide a click sheet to guide us through setup, give us a number of words and pictures that need to be included, and assign an exact rubric to follow. That was not the case. We were given the names of several platforms to choose from (they were merely suggestions), and we experimented with them until we found the one that worked best for us. Thanks to this authentic method of instruction, I was forced to step outside of my comfort zone and experiment with unfamiliar territory. Moving forward beyond this assessment, I found most assignments throughout the remainder of the courses were structured in a similar manner.
This process of wrestling with the concepts, exploring, and finding a digital outlet to best convey our learning was invaluable. You don’t realize how limiting a prescribed curriculum can be until you experience the shift when boundaries are removed. Once given the green light to make something your own, the possibilities are endless, and you find yourself loving the work you are doing. As a result, you end up doing more than expected when you are not held to the constraints of a traditional lesson or method of assessment. The rationale behind this notion can be hard to define or explain, but I can give you some insight based on my own experiences.
I personally produced more under the COVA model verses the way I was taught in the past because I was able to create representations of my learning in different ways and through methods I enjoyed. I also found that the wealth of new applications and tools out there eased my fear of failure and led me to become more resourceful. There were so many times that I selected a platform to help illustrate a lesson or concept, and it didn’t work out as planned, or it was difficult for me to operate. I quickly learned that a “Plan B” was just a simple Google search away, and I would experiment with other options until I found one that worked for me. Had I not had this freedom of choice, I cannot imagine how frustrated I might have been had I been required to work with a specific technology application that wasn’t my cup of tea.
My difficulties throughout the learning process have given me a new perspective in connection with struggling learners and teachers who are afraid to use technology. When things don’t go as expected, their reactions could improve drastically if allowed to choose their own “Plan B.” In my experience, people quickly shut down and become disgruntled when they feel they are forced to achieve unrealistic expectations. If we take a more organic approach when aligning outcomes and beliefs, our learning environments and school climates have the potential to look and feel much differently. The adoption of encouraging others to, “show what they know, how they can,” may be the solution to equalizing outcomes for those involved in the instructional process along with establishing a culture of growth mindset within an organization.
If you think about it, an added benefits of COVA is the way it lends itself to built-in differentiation. Our high fliers are naturally going to produce projects and artifacts of better quality and thoroughness, and our struggling students are going to do as much as they can. Either way, you get to see what ALL your students can do when given creative freedom, and you get a chance to meet them where THEY are rather than pacing them through a prescribed curriculum. The wonderful part of all this is that you can assess them according to their ability levels since all students do not have to be measured in the same way. By using COVA as a vehicle for teaching and learning, we can celebrate the individual growths of each student even if they do not end up in the same place.
Through the realization of the benefits of shifting to a method of flexible instruction, my learning philosophy has changed. In my classroom, I have taken on a different mindset and identified instances where one assignment produced in the same way was not the best fit for several of the learners in my environment. When these situations arise, I quickly steer those particular students in an alternate direction that I feel may be more suitable for them. This practice has significantly lowered my failure percentages over the last couple of grading periods and increased the amount of work being submitted. The rewards of a constructivist learning approach have become more apparent through these experiences, and moving forward I will work to gradually release control to the students and center my learning environment around Choice, Ownership, Voice, and Authentic learning experiences.
Application
Students will naturally learn more through experimentation and exploration than they will if you tell them every move they need to make. This a habit I hope to change in my educational environment. Currently, when I give students an assignment that lends itself to choice and creativity, they often ask me if what they have chosen is “OK?” They are afraid to “color outside the lines” out of fear of making mistakes because someone has always guided them through every step of completing an assignment. Implementing a COVA approach in combination with my innovation plan (ePortfolios) should help to move them in the right direction. Recently, I was blessed with the opportunity to see a real world example of where I want my learning environment to be in person, and it is a vision that I constantly reflect on.
Before the Christmas break, I was invited to attend a campus visit with a group of our curriculum coordinators to The International School of the Americas in San Antonio, Texas. The purpose of our visit was to glean information about ePortfolios since this particular school has been pushing the initiative for the last ten years. The experience is one I will never forget as I had the opportunity to interview students and document their feedback and thoughts on compiling an ePortfolio throughout their high school career. In short, the students raved about how much they loved maintaining their portfolios, and how the process has deepened their understanding of their learning since they are required to post reflections on key concepts. To me, hearing from the students about the effectiveness of a technology trend carried much more weight than relying solely on the recommendations of the teachers, and it was exciting to see how a neighboring secondary campus has found success through the use of the innovation plan I have been working to bring to my own learners.
After the visit, one of my coordinators revealed that she had some funding available for secondary technology purchases, and she asked if I would like some licenses for my students. Of course, I quickly accepted. During the 2016-17 school year, I had scratched the surface of my innovation plan by creating Weebly accounts for my students, but after a few weeks of using the platform, I found it to be difficult for my students to navigate. Since the International School of the America’s has been using Edublogs (a Word Press product) for quite some time, I was eager to see if it is a more effective platform for the implementation of my innovation plan.
It took a couple of months to get the purchase order processed as it often does in a public school environment, but we now have the licenses and have set up our accounts. My students were assigned their first blog post last week, and I can see we are going to have some growing pains as we work to learn the logistics of the program. Despite the struggles, we are going to press on and keep trying. As we work through our last units of the school year, the students will be adding projects and writings to their sites. It is my hope to focus on the element of Choice as they become more comfortable working in Edublogs, and I will use ongoing assessments over the remainder of the school year to guide me as I design next year’s instruction over the summer. My goal is to align the units I teach during the four quarters of the school year with both COVA and the use of ePortfolios.
In the future, I will share my successes and failures with other teachers in the building as I work to streamline my innovation plan. It is my dream for every student to have an ePortfolio they will utilize as an assessment piece over the course of their high school years. For now, I will work to determine what that will look like in my content area, English Language Arts and Reading, and we will grow from here.
