The Beginning of A New Journey

 

The Beginning of A New Journey

Stop #1: The Invitation

After a summer like no other, I was excited for the start of a new school year. With a whole new list of classes on my schedule and a wide array of educators to learn from, I knew that we were in for an amazing academic year. Although I was sure that the Corona Virus would still remain a hardship throughout the months to come, I was excited to return to campus in order to continue learning under the amazing professors at Mount Saint Mary College. As the first few weeks of the new semester began to fly by, all students and teachers began to see the difficulties associated with virtual learning. As an individual who was pursuing a career in the hands-on fields of both science and education, my teachers appeared to be particularly stressed. Science teachers struggled to offer virtual labs, dissections, and presentations while educators struggled to locate and plan virtual fieldwork activities. Amidst all of this struggle and chaos, one particularly special teacher reached out to me and allowed me to see things from a different perspective. Dr. Ludmila Smirnova is one of the most inspiring teachers I have ever had the pleasure of learning under. As a lifelong educator and supervisor of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society for Education, she comes to this field with both a wealth of knowledge and a profound desire to make a difference. Although I had never had the pleasure of learning under Dr. Smirnova directly, I was gifted enough to consider her an educational advisor and mentor. She represents everything I want to be in a teacher: passionate, kind, and devoted. Beyond all of that, she taught Science Methods, a course that I had been looking forward to taking since I first arrived at the Mount. Through KDP and a mutual interest in science and sustainability, I had the pleasure of showing Dr. Smirnova the work that I had completed at Bishop Dunn over the summer. I told her about my Google Classroom page and all of the educational technologies that I had used to educate my students despite the need for virtual learning. Dr. Smirnova then went on to explain dozens of other applications and extensions that I could use moving forward in order to further improve my student's online experience. She talked about all of the technological advancements that had been made over the past few months, stating that this need for virtual learning has given hundreds of tech companies the push that they needed to expand, adapt and improve their products. Dr. Smirnova went on to state that despite all of the challenges associated with these unprecedented times, teachers worldwide were learning, adapting, and progressing at an unimaginable rate. Could it be that wrapped under all of this struggle and stress, was a gift for educators worldwide? Teachers everywhere were learning how they could better educate 21st-century learners, and as teacher candidates, we were right there with them. How could I have not seen this before? Dr. Smirnova's perspective was so refreshing and I left our discussions feeling motivated and inspired to take advantage of the free webinars, workshops, and trainings being offered worldwide. With this idea in mind, I began my research into new ways that I could spread this hopeful message to all of those struggling to go to work each day. As if by magic, at our next meeting, Dr. Smirnova offered me the gift of a lifetime: an Independent Study Project. The Independent Study Program is one that I was unfamiliar with at the time, but upon further research, I learned that it would allow me to work directly with one of my biggest role models: Dr. Smirnova. I knew right then and there that I had to apply! There was so much to learn and I felt so incredibly blessed to have this opportunity. Once Dr. Smirnova had so graciously agreed to work with me, it was time to pick a research topic. With a great deal of shared interests, there seemed to be so many different directions that we could go with our research, but after our most recent talk, only one seemed to stand out from all of the rest. So, we settled on the idea of performing an academic research project based on analyzing the profound impact that the Corona Virus Pandemic has had on the field of education. We sought to learn from those on the front lines, to share their stories, and to showcase the profound number of hardships and advancements that have occurred over these past few months... and I could not wait to get started!