Running Head: GROWTH ASSESSMENT 1
Growth Assessment
Shannon Catozza
Azusa Pacific University
EDUC 549
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 2
History of Coursework
Table 1
History of Coursework
Course Term Professor Reflection
• This course helped me to accept the
importance of technology and how it is
EDUC 511 shaping the classroom today. I was finally
Name of able to see myself using technology in my
course: Spring Kristi classroom because I was afraid of it. I fell
Essentials in 2017 Hernandez in love with google docs. I had no idea
Learning & how easy it made collaborating with
Technology colleagues and would be just as easy for
teachers to monitor progress of students.
• This course taught me how to be aware of
the dangers on the internet and associated
with technology. I explored different ways
EDTC 515
to teach digital citizenship to my students
Name of
and how a digital footprint stays with one
course: Spring Dr. Jim
forever. I also researched 3-D printing and
Emerging 2017 Brown
was very excited to learn that it would be
Trends in
easy to incorporate it into lessons in the
Technology
classroom, but expensive to buy one. At
least for now.
• This course taught me how to use
technology to help me grow as a person
and educator. My favorite thing to do in
EDTC 517 this class was to make a webpage. I
Name of practiced using Weebly and loved how easy
course: Spring and practical it was to use. I had my first
Joe Bruzzese
Digital 2017 experience using QR codes and learned
Communicati what they were. I actually was able to use
ons this knowledge in my own classroom. I
created a QR code for parents to sign up to
my classroom REMIND.
EDTC 527 • This course forced me to focus on my
Name of Summer Dr. Jennifer journey in life and look back on my life
course: 2017 Courduff and be proud of how far I’ve come. I was
Special able to reconnect to scripture and start
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 3
Topics in reading Wisdom Hunters again. I am so
Technology – happy I took this course because inclusion
Assistive classrooms in a multiple subject setting are
Technology normal. In both my student placements
in the and my current classroom, I have minimum
Classroom 2 students with needs that I was able to use
assistive technology with. The task tool
matrix really helped me organize several
different ways I can use technology in any
general education classroom.
• Looking back at all my coursework in this
program, I am amazed at how far I have
EDUC 549
come. I am able to look back and see the
Name of
growth I have had as an educator. In the
course:
beginning it was all assumed information
Capstone Spring Dr. Jennifer
and imaged scenarios, now I get to really
Experience 2019 Courduff
live it. The assignments are going to help
in Learning
me put everything together and create a
&
whole picture to tell my story of where I
Technology
have been and where I am going.
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 4
Personal Growth
The person I am today is not the person I was three years ago. I started Azusa Pacific
University’s (APU) Master of Arts in Education: Learning and Technololgy (LRNT) program in
the Fall of 2016. At that time, I was anxious, scared and felt like this was my last chance to
make a future for myself doing something that I think I am supposed to be doing. I wasn’t sure
if it was really God’s plan or I was making a big financial mistake and I was a giant ball of
mixed emotions. My inner voice was excited to be moving in the right direction to make a
change in my life, but at the same time I knew there was a big chance I could fail, and I think I
was more scared of what people would think about me if that happened. My motivations
steamed from being told I wasn’t good enough, smart enough, too immature, too poor, etc.
Today I can look back and say I began this program for the wrong reasons, but I am graduating
with the right ones. I know that God has led me to this path, and I am right where I am supposed
to be. I don’t need approval from anyone else and working with children and providing them
with a safe, positive learning environment and making them feel loved motivates me to do it for
them. I can’t change my past, but I am in control of my future, my actions and I will be who I
needed when I was a child and that is my motivation.
Throughout my journey in this program I have opened up about myself, reconnected my
life with God through faith forums, prayer and been accepted just as I am by a community of
Christian believers. In each one of my classes I have created personal relationships that helped
me develop self-confidence and motived me to share my story and journey with my peers and
mentor teachers. I never realized how much sharing my story would help me become more
confident and open my eyes to new perspectives. I am a very impatient person and when I don’t
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 5
get results right away, I have a past of giving up before I finish. I had put off getting my degree
for years out of fear and I didn’t believe I could really do it. I will always be a work in progress,
but I am making my future a reality for myself and to show my children that hard work pays off
and never give up on their dreams. According to Palmer (2017), “The decision to live an
undivided life is a deeply personal decision, made for the sake of one own’s identity and
integrity. To decide to live divided no more is less a strategy for attacking other people’s beliefs
than an uprising of the elemental need for one’s own beliefs to govern and guide one’s life”
(p.174). I don’t need the approval of others or their permission to feel worthy anymore and I
know if I push myself to go out of my comfort zone I will survive! I am so grateful for APU
because the people, purpose and Godly community have helped me to develop a growing
mindset and help me believe that change is truly a good thing. Without change I am stale and
can’t grow, so change is a must to keep living a Godly life and striving to be the person He
would want me to be.
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 6
Professional Growth
Three years ago, I would have been okay with using pencil and paper and recording
everything in a traditional grade book because I was scared of technology. When I was
considering what program, I wanted to get my Masters of Arts in I was hesitant to pick LRNT. I
didn’t know how to properly use anything online except for eBay. I could type 50 words per
minute (wpm) from years of practice at a prior job, but the thought of using technology in my
classroom to teach was so scary. So, I picked it! I know that if I wanted to be an effective
educator, I needed to be able to incorporate technology in some way, I just didn’t know how. I
know that picking this degree was the best thing I could have done. I am currently using
technology in my classroom today and excited to keep learning about new ways I can help keep
my students engaged in learning and connect the classroom to my students at home.
From talking with other teachers and peers going through the credential program it seems
that the Masters in Education is still the most popular degree for teachers. I knew that one of the
benefits to the LRNT degree would be that it would help me stand out in an interview if I had the
chance. In December of 2018 I interviewed for a teaching position and during the interview the
panel was interested in my LRNT program and said that it was a great choice because technology
is important to have in the classroom and they asked how I would use it in a Transitional
Kindergarten (TK) classroom. I was able to provide examples that I had explored throughout my
program at APU. For example, I was introduced to Project-Based Learning (PBL) in my EDTC
515 class of Emerging Trends in Technology and Dr. Brown said in his Lesson 2 Handout, “PBL
cares about our mission to educate all. PBL never forgets that one of our main jobs is to prepare
students for the predicted future. PBL knows that students are not standardized, they don’t learn
in a standardized way, and that our clientele can’t be assessed in a standardized manner if we are
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 7
looking to foster innovation” (Brown, 2017, p. 1). There are many opportunities to incorporate
technology into PBL even in a TK classroom. Students can use iPads to take pictures and create
a slide show, record themselves talking or make a recording of their work. TK is a very
important grade that is supposed to build a foundation of learning that will prepare students for
their educational futures and help them be successful. In my interview and when talking with
fellow colleagues I have noticed I am more confident to share different ways I can use
technology in my classroom and help others find ways as well. I am honest about what I don’t
know and not afraid to ask for help and always looking for more ways I can improve and new
things I can use to help my students learn.
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 8
Technical Growth
Throughout my program at APU I have been introduced to a variety of ways to use
technology in the classroom. I have seen tremendous technical growth in myself and have been
lucky enough to actually use it in my current classroom. In my transitional kindergarten
classroom, I quickly learned I needed to be flexible and adapt technology to meet the needs of
my 4 and 5-year-old students. Many of them had never used a tablet before so this has been a
learning experience for them and will benefit them when they get into kindergarten.
My students use online learning apps such as ABC mouse to complete assignments and
Seesaw so they can document their learning with pictures and videos. Since they can’t read and
write yet this is very beneficial to them and helps them to learn in a different way. I teach them
how to use online apps in small groups because we only have eight iPads and they need one on
one assistance. Students have access to ABC mouse at home for free through our class and
parents have access to view their child’s portfolio of pictures and videos they have created in See
saw.
I use videos in class to teach lessons and students follow along to songs and movements
to help them learn their ABCs, counting and social skills. I use a virtual countdown clock so
students can see how much time they will have before transitioning during centers. The students
love this because it is a picture of an animal and it slowly reveals the entire face. In an upcoming
unit we will be studying the life cycle of a plant and butterfly and I plan on taking my students
on a virtual field trip through the Discovery Education website to help tie the unit together.
To help parents stay connected I generated a QR code to help sign them up for the
REMIND app. I use the REMIND app to keep an open line of communication between myself
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 9
and my students’ parents. I was so happy to find that one out of 30 families actually used the QR
code I created. I upload flyers and post information to keep families up to date weekly.
I know that as I gain experience teaching, I will be able to utilize technology in more
ways than I am doing now. I also understand the importance of exposing and using it in the
classroom to help students learn. However, Himmelsbach (2019, P. 1) stated that, “Technology
is not meant to replace the teacher. Rather, the idea is to create a flexible learning environment
that breeds innovation. Technology can be a highly effective tool, but that’s all it is – a tool.” I
do agree that technology should be treated as another resource to teach in the classroom and it is
important to not lose the student-teacher relationship in the process because students need a
healthy balance of integrating technology without losing the essential social skills that come with
social interactions.
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 10
Life Long Learning Plan
• Start running again! I want to be able to keep up with my students and be around a long
time for my children.
• Join a life group and teach children in poverty areas overseas like Kenya.
• Complete a GATE certification program.
• I will become a Certified Innovator through Google in their Education Program.
• I would like to start a Robotics Club or Science Olympiads at my school or be on the
team as a teacher mentor.
• I would like to become apart of my school district’s tech team and provide leadership in
my school for teachers on how to use technology in their classrooms.
Conclusion
Throughout my journey in the LRNT program I have seen many positive changes in
myself. I am noticeable more confident and motivated to keep finding new ways to use
technology in my classroom. APU has given me tools I can use throughout my life to grow
spiritually, mentally and academically. I am grateful to have been apart of such an amazing
school. My educational journey has helped change my life and I am also proud to say that I
know how to use google docs now and will soon be creating a classroom website in the next year
to help keep an open line of communication between my classroom and students. I doubted
myself at times and wasn’t sure if I had the strength to finish, but my professors never gave up
on me and loved and encouraged me to keep going. My relationship with God is so much
stronger and I know I will serve Him in a public-school setting because I will be who I needed
when I was young. God never gave up on me and I will never give up on my students.
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 11
References
Brown, J. (2017). EDTC515: Emerging Trends in Technology. Masters in Arts in Education:
Learning and Technology. [Lesson 2]. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University.
Azusa, CA. Retrieved from [Link]
Himmelsbach, V. (2019, January 2). 6 Pros & Cons of Technology in the Classroom in 2019
[Blog post]. Retrieved from [Link]
Palmer, P. J. (2017). The courage to teach (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
