Writing quality adult learning is hard. It requires a lot of adulting.

For this course, I found myself struggling with my own self-efficacy. As an educator, I've experienced lots of professional development that was... (hmmm... how do I say this nicely yet honestly?) ...not a valid use of my time. When presented with the opportunity to design a course that featured hybrid learning, I decided to challenge myself and focus on adult learners - specifically, in-service educators - as my intended audience. Having recently stepped out of the high school classroom and into a curriculum coordinator role, I felt this application would be the most valid use of my time in this course. Also, I'm excited to learn about adult learning theory and strategies because I'm excited to learn how to serve my teachers.

So, my initial challenges surrounded my inner critic, second-guessing my designs and lessons, viewing them through the most jaded and close-minded lenses I've observed in my peers. Ultimately, I worked through this by realizing that, similar to public high school instruction, you just can't please everybody in every class. However, what has worked for me in the past is genuine care for those with whom I work and the ability to stay focused on very simple goals. 

This presented a new challenge: What is my overarching goal for my learners?

Obviously, I want my teacher participants to leave the course better teachers. However, I don't like how that sounds. It implies that they aren't already good, capable teachers, which does not honor the experience and expertise they bring to the table as adults. Secondly, it implies that that's all we do: We teach.

This conflicts with my perception of what it means to be an educator.

There was a time in American history where teachers were the "sage on the stage," givers of knowledge that should be listened to and never questioned. That's just not what education is anymore, especially in today's quickly-evolving technological, cultural, and social spheres. Today, teachers must be facilitators that design learning experiences which, by nature, engage students in hand-on, self-directed learning. We are organizers, supporters, and handymen who fill in the learning gaps as they are assessed and diagnosed. We are scientists, engaging in cycles of experiments that start with data and end with data. We are collaborators, working with multiple other educators and professionals to ensure equitable and fair instruction for all students, regardless of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or zip code. Most of all, we teachers must be perpetual students, always pursuing more knowledge, skills, and strategies to refine our performance art of creating learning experiences.

"Teachers" as a label no longer cuts the mustard for those outside the profession.

Finally, I settled on the term "gardeners." In a metaphorical sense, gardeners do what teachers do. They provide an appropriate environment, create or provide conditions for growth, give just the right amount of support as needed, and let their garden grow. So, my challenge produced my overarching goal: That teacher participants would leave my course better gardeners.

This goal and its inherent analogy helped to guide almost all of my decisions. Often, I would test parts of the course by this goal, asking, "Does this model being a better gardener? Or does it bring us closer to being better gardeners?" Many pedagogical decisions were made according to this statement.

Other challenges included struggles with technological tools, such as learning to use this blogging website. I also found it difficult to set up management of my eportfolio; however, once the organization system was created, it was easy to keep it going.

If I had to do it again, I would have requested to expand our three lessons into five or six lessons. One aspect of adult learning theory that I felt this course structure did not allow me to honor was the simple, clear, and direct nature of adult learning. Creating lesson plans with so many steps and requiring learners to access so many different technological resources would damage my credibility as the designer and instructor. Adult learners do not appreciate anything resembling "busy work." As such, I would have split the various activities I was required to add to the Module 3 lessons into more lessons. This would have made the work less scattered and more valuable in each individual meeting.

If I had to develop this course for a different audience, I'd have to change a few parts of the learning, such as using a Facebook group as a community-building collaborative tool. Also, the nature of the course assumes that the learners will engage in practicing their learning in their classrooms. If this course's target audience consisted of individuals who are not current in-service teachers, the foundational theory of Community of Practice may have to be changed.

Overall, while there are a few things I'd want to change, I am excited by the work I created this term. I hope I get to do this with a group of teachers one day in the near future, both because I'm interested in growing my own practice and because I feel the learning could be valuable for both teachers and students. I'm grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow.