As I Continue The DLL Program – Nicholas D Skelton

After the first class of the M.Ed DLL program at Lamar University, I need to project how I’m going to utilize the COVA Model, Growth Mindset, Failing Forward throughout the rest of the program.

Failing forward is something I’ve talked about before when it came to networking and career paths. While most people believe that you need to have a perfect record if you’re are going to discuss these matters, it’s quite the opposite. Who better else to talk about failing than someone who has failed many of times? While the record may not be perfect, it does seem that failure happens more than success for me. And it’s not that failure is acceptable, it happens, and it is always a learning situation when it happens. With failure though, you need to have feedback on why it happened and learn what you can do and how to cope with it and when the next time it happens you will be prepared.

I’m working with a 7^th grader right now who is so preoccupied with not failing that he will end up in tears before a test is finished. He asks for answers all the time, when he actually knows the answer but is afraid that he’ll get it wrong. The other day we work taking a test and he was on the verge of tears when I finally said, “It’s okay to fail. You learn more when you fail. I’ve failed a lot in life and its going to happen to you some time. You need to go ahead and be okay with if you fail.” Well, it sounded a lot better than how it is written. Eventually he finished the test, but he was not going to take my advice and go with his gut. He asked me right after the test if he passed, and I said, I don’t know. He then again told me how afraid he was of failing. How is it possible to be afraid of failing at a little test? You can’t be afraid to fail at something so small. What happens when the best test comes or when something life or death happens? It’s okay to fail. I’ve accepted that I’m not going to be perfect in this program, I want to be. Failure can be a good thing. It’s just how you take it. Having a growth mindset while failing forward can only help my chances of becoming better and more proficient with the DLL Program.

Using the COVA (Choice, Ownership, Voice, through Authentic learning) approach in the program is going to help me understand more about the industry that I am studying for. While I want to coach Ice Hockey, I know that it can’t pay the bills. I love teaching and I love technology. I’m not the best, or even close to being the best with technology, the COVA approach will allow me to learn more about and understand learning environment.

Having real world learning experiences is what I need and how I learn. I teach (when not restrained by state mandated curriculum) in the same way. I try to use as much as I can that relates to the real world. Just this past week I had to explain to a class that I actually was using middle school math in a workshop I went to. One student said he didn’t need it because he was “going to a professional basketball player.” Well, it was time to use “Real World” to him. I explained that you have to pass high school math before you can go to college to play. He replied, I’m going straight to the NBA. Yes, I wanted so bad to let him in on a secret of how hard it is to do that, but I bit my tongue and continued with the situation. I told him, “You can sign that big contract, but you need to know your math. You might be making 10 million a year, you need to pull 40% for taxes, 8% for agent fee’s, 12% for staff fees, 10% for emergency fund, 5% living expenses and housing…” He just looked at me confused and shaking his head. Real World learning experiences. I think he was lost in the math. That’s when I said, “You get it now?” He just stared at the floor. I was once referred to as, “Dream Crusher.” Am I that? I like to think I’m a realist.

Harapnuik, D. (2017, October 31). CSLE COVA Explained. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lby4-CQhIvI
Harapnuik, D. (2017, October 22). What to Expect from the Digital Learning and Leading Masters Program. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqZU2jB3tZI
Shillcut, S. (2019, March 28). Resilience: The Art of Failing Forward. Retrieved November 10, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBlmvAITMrg