Defining Goals and Becoming a Lifelong Learner

 

Initial Goals

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At the start of the Masters of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University my goals were simple. My main goal was to complete my Master’s because I had a passion for teaching and I wanted to be better at it. I wanted to really fine tune my skills so that I could improve my students knowledge and understanding. I had never had formal schooling in the educational field so I knew there was so much for me to learn. Also, I really wanted to gain confidence in my role as an educator and become a leader within the dental hygiene program where I work.

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      Current Goals    

        

I think the overall picture of my initial goals has stayed the same but I have fine tuned them a bit. I still have a passion for understanding the practice of teaching and I continue to work on bettering my own practice daily. As I have made my way through the program I found myself really interested in teaching online and learning more about how I can improve my students learning with the addition of technologies into the curriculum. This has brought me to my current goal, which would be to teach in an online degree completion program for Dental Hygienists.

During the program I have also made it a goal and priority to continuously learn about educational technologies and teaching strategies.  I want to devote time to becoming lifelong learner to better myself as an educator and help my students succeed.

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Looking Back

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As I made my way through this program I didn’t realize the impact this program would have on my teaching practice. Not only have I have fine tuned my goals and found what I really want to focus on as an educator, but I have developed my own teaching philosophy. I have gained so much confidence as an Educator and I feel like my practice has improved with every class I have taken. I have developed a passion for being a lifelong learner and I feel like there is so much more for me to learn about dentistry, education and technology. I plan to continue to build on what I have learned in this program so that I can continue to be a better educator and help my students succeed. I can proudly say that have conquered my initial goal of becoming a better educator. I feel like I have made big strides in my teaching practice because of this program and I am excited to see what the future holds for me as a lifelong learner and dental hygiene educator.

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