Complete a 3,600 mile bicycle tour across the United States to produce real world applications for a grade 4 core curriculum that enriches current units and inspires students to embrace a growth mindset.
My fellowship changed my perspective on almost all aspects of my life. The physical and mental challenges of riding my bicycle 3,600 miles over the course of 50 days continually forced me out of my comfort zone and required me to perform at a level that I didn't know I was capable of. I have developed a deep understanding of the country that I call home, and will use this understanding to build my student's knowledge of the United States.
I see my teaching evolving to a more experiential, project-based approach to education. I want to help to feed the inner curiosity about the world that I believe all students have through experiences that will both inspire and educate them. I see my students learning as more hands-on, and connected to the real world around them. I want them to see and believe that the world has limitless possibilities, and with perseverance and grit, they can accomplish anything.
Many of the unexpected experiences that I had during my fellowship occurred during my interactions with the local people of the towns and cities that I biked through. With all the gear and bags attached to my bicycle, I was a point of curiosity for many people. This led to many conversations and opportunities that I would never have had if I was traveling by car. These conversations inspired me to ask more questions and engage people in conversations more frequently.
My students will learn differently because I will be able to use anecdotes from my travels, as well as resources that I have gathered to enrich the current curriculum and help students connect more to the curriculum. Already I have had a math group that was working on a performance task about Yellowstone National Park. I was able to show the students pictures and videos and provide resources to help them to better understand the park, and see a purpose in the math problems they were solving.
My students will experience pictures and videos that will complement lessons (math, reading, science, and social studies) throughout the school year. My students will also have access to books and Native American artifacts that I shipped home while I was on the road. My students will be creating Native American Tribes projects, as well as social studies projects connected to the regions of the United States that I rode my bicycle through.
So far this year I have utilized google docs to share the activities that I created with my grade level teammates. I have already presented to the school staff during our first faculty meeting of the year. During the meeting I shared some of the lessons that I learned on my trip, and how they connect to my practice as an educator. Outside of my classroom I also created a bulletin board display that shows the route of my trip, pictures, as well as information about many of the locations.
On a macro level, this experience helped me to better understand my mental and physical capabilities. In order to succeed I had to think as a problem solver. When an issue came up I couldn't just get upset about it, I had to stay level headed, and think of solutions. In teaching, there is always something that can be improved, and always somthing that doesn't go the way you planned. After this experience, I approach teaching with a problem-solving mindset and don't allow my self to become upset.
One reason why students benefit from this type of teacher learning is that these fellowship experiences inspire teachers, and an inspired teacher is what every student deserves. Students benefit because these opportunities allow teachers to model perseverance for their students, and allow their students to see that even adults step out of their comfort zone and engage in new learning.
My fellowship completely changed my personal and professional perspective. I learned that any goal can be accomplished by making small steps in the right directions. Little, plus often equals much. I have become more patient, focused, and curious. I look at problems as opportunities for new learning and pass on that same mindset to the students in my class. I have learned to balance my expectations, and allow things to unfold rather than trying to force things to happen.
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