COVA Reflection
Reflection…what we all have been gifted with the past few months. The public health emergency had us all go through emotions from extreme happiness to hopeless sadness, from calming peace to disturbing chaos, from sweet smiles to crying tears, and finally from indescribable joy to restless anxiety. As I look back and reflect, there were lessons learned, all because of experiencing this rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Education has been one of the affected sectors with all the protocols, restrictions and guidelines. Teeming with doubts, fear, and worries, teachers were still able to bring their A game and true enough, they were able to deliver, as always.
As I continue to learn more about the CSLE (Creating Significant Learning Environments) by giving learners COVA (Choice, Ownership and Voice through Authentic Learning Opportunities), I had wished I knew then what I know now. I could have made better preparations, even could have provided my students with a better survival toolkit to keep skills emerging even while on distance learning.
To be continued…
(In between work and study, I got interrupted and had to stop this blog post. I started this post earlier in the semester, and I am resuming it as our summer term is about to end.)
As I am trying to recompose my line of thought with this topic, I just realized how much I have learned about COVA throughout the 8 weeks of the courses I was enrolled in (EDLD 5303 and 5305). The short pause in between starting and finishing this post will make my sharing more personal as I will reflect on what I have read and what I have experienced from using COVA as a student.
C is for CHOICE! I was given the liberty to choose my own Innovation Proposal, plan an Implementation Outline, and research resources for my Literature Review. With clear guidelines and concrete examples, I was able to explore all the available options and evaluate possible outcomes. Someone who has the opportunity to choose feels empowered, increasing her determination to succeed. I was very motivated the whole time I was accomplishing all the assignments. As challenging as it may, I was persistent until tasks were completed.
O is for OWNERSHIP! Since it was my OWN proposal, I took full ownership of it. I made sure I completely understood all the details of the project. I was responsible for developing and improving the Implementation Outline and made sure I have sufficient and credible resources for my Literature Review. I also demonstrated ownership in developing my ePortfolio, everything about the site is a reflection of me and my learning journey.
V is for VOICE! Throughout the duration of the program, I was able to express and communicate my thoughts, concerns, and feelings to my professors and peers. There were several avenues to collaborate and support each other. The discussion board (Blackboard), and our small core groups enabled me to seek assistance when I needed it and render help to others when I could. There were weekly discussion posts where everyone could share and provide comments. Our opinions, our personal views, and voices were heard and respected.
A is for AUTHENTIC learning opportunities! Being in this course allowed me as a learner to create my own authentic learning experiences. With the opportunity to choose, the feeling of having the ownership of my learning and the voice, I was able to engage in meaningful instructional activities. I read and responded to discussion posts, I referred to assigned readings and videos for information, and I collaborated with peers to improve my work and learn new things.
Learning about COVA made so much sense when I was able to experience it myself. It was easier to understand the concepts when I could apply it while completing the assignments. During the whole process, I was able to reevaluate myself not only as a teacher but this time as a learner. It’s always good to “put yourself in their shoes.” Now I feel like even my Kindergarten students can benefit from COVA, and I intend to introduce this approach this coming school year. Something exciting to look forward to, as I also look forward to my Fall semester ADL classes.
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