Introduction: Reflections about myself, technology, and problem-solving

Tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course.

My name is Judy Park. I am a masters student at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, in the Intellectual Disabilities/Autism Dual Certification Program for grades 1-6.  This is my last semester, and it is shaping up to be the most exciting one. I have heard great things about this course, and what I am most eager to learn is how to take better advantage of the up and coming educational technology (e.g., SMART Board, Boardmaker) to add to my pedagogical toolbox.

What experience and background do you bring to the class? Perhaps you'd like to include a favorite quote.

Prior to TC, I graduated from Middlebury College as a psychology major and with minors in elementary education and Japanese. As I had been educated in the NYC public system from K-12, I am deeply committed to joining the ranks of the amazing teacher’s I’ve had while growing up. Hopefully, I will end up teaching in the district that served me so well. As for my teaching experiences, I have had the pleasure of working with a diverse group of students – urban, rural, low SES, general education, special education, dual language learners – and I’ve grown to hold a very special place in my life for people with disabilities, especially in the recent years.

My favorite quote is from the short story Typhoon, by Joseph Conrad. In this story, a captain and his crew sail into a destructive typhoon, and the quote captures the sentiment of Jukes, the first mate, who is distressed during the storm:

"The long, long stress of a gale does it; the suspense of the interminably culminating catastrophe; and there is a bodily fatigue in the mere holding on to existence within the excessive tumult; a searching and insidious fatigue that penetrates deep into a man's breast to cast down and sadden his heart, which is incorrigible, and of all the gifts of the earth—even before life itself—aspires to peace." 

Like Jukes, sometimes when I encounter a problem that is so distressing and disheartening, I feel that all I can do is to surrender to it without hoping for anything else but for the weight to lift. However, I keep pushing on, trying different tactics, so that when I do find a solution, I can learn from its journey.

What role does technology play in your life? What has been your experience learning technology in the past? How comfortable are you with new technology? How would you describe your technological learning style? What do you think people need in order to learn technology well?

Growing up with an older brother who was always building computers, I always considered myself able to handle technological burps, at least the minor ones. Besides, I have always thought that if all possible options are exhausted, there’s always Google to help me solve the issue. In the end, technology makes up my day-to-day life – literally, it wakes me up to start the day, provides me my work schedule and various due dates, guides me to my classes, puts me in contact with friends, family, peers, and coworkers throughout the day, I can go on and on, but I am sure many of you share my reliance on technology. I actively incorporate technology into my life, partly due to vanity and partly to keep me on my toes. As technology exponentially upgrades, I feel it gets harder to catch up (taking my parents as an example – teaching my father to write an email took several hours over several days) the longer we take in learning to work with it. I am very comfortable with new technology for this very reason – the more I try to figure out technology, the more I will understand. Which leads me to my next point: anyone can learn anything they want to learn about technology, as long as they put in the effort and the practice. If I can teach my parents to email, then to create word documents and excel sheets, and (most recently) to use Netflix, well, I’d say anything is possible.

What reflections, insights, or connections did you think about as a result of reading our thoughts and Martinez's essay on problem-solving?

Martinez’s point that our attitudes towards errors greatly inhibit a valuable learning opportunity was the most poignant in his essay on problem-solving. This is the attitude that stops us and our students from actively pursuing a solution after making an error, and instead we just seek an answer from a peer or the teacher. I grew up with this mindset, and only when my favorite high school teacher began opening up the class to discussion and collaborative work did I feel that errors were necessary in the learning process. Our students need and are required to have the benefit of accepting errors and uncertainty if they are to succeed in life after school. Fluid intelligence and adaptability are two skills that children should have the opportunity to learn and sustain early in their education, as they will encounter more abstract concepts and difficult problems in the higher grades.