11 education experts share their learning resolutions for 2023
By Katy Bowman
January is an ideal time to reflect, adjust, and set personal and professional intentions for the months ahead. For busy educators, it’s an especially good time to take a step back and think about what’s working and what’s not when it comes to keeping their students — and themselves — engaged.
Need some inspiration? We asked education experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth to share their learning goals for 2023. We hope they’ll help reinvigorate your creativity and enthusiasm as we head into the second half of the school year.
STACEY BRADY
Instructor, Honors Grade 4 Mathematics
Professional learning goals: “I plan to ask students probing, reflective questions in the beginning of the course and then gradually ask them to create similar questions to pose to their classmates. It is my hope that students will develop this type of self-questioning as part of their inner dialogue as they solve multistep problems. Students at the elementary level thrive on having their ideas shared with the group, and student motivation will soar as they have the opportunity to stretch another student’s thinking.”
Personal learning goal: “To read 10 pages of a ‘self-improvement’ book per day. I am always eager to learn more and do better in my life!”
DARYS NIEVES
Instructor, Elementary through Advanced-level Spanish
Professional learning goals: “To provide a variety of interactive games and field trips, among other engaging activities, to spark students’ curiosity and nurture their love of learning. I also plan to introduce students to the diverse cultures and communities behind the language, in order to provide a better understanding of the ever-evolving Spanish language.”
Personal learning goals: “I want to do some more research on the history of different Latin American countries. I particularly enjoy watching documentaries.”
AMY SHELTON
CTY Executive Director
Professional learning goals: “To do my best to be an example of a lifelong learner by letting my own curiosity show through in what I do. More indirectly, I try to create environments that foster innovative ideas on how to serve and inspire students whenever I am around parents or educators.”
Personal learning goals: “Each year, I set a stack of books next to my bed. Throughout the year, I might add a few, but I can only take one off the stack if I am reading it. My goal is to get through the stack, but I am generally happy if I can get through two-thirds of it! My other resolution is one that I renew every year: to keep my language learning streak going on Duolingo. I started a few years ago to learn Greek and brush up on my French. This past year, I made a new friend during my travels, so I started to learn German.”
DENNIS QUINN
Instructor, Honors Grade 3 and Honors Grade 4 Mathematics
Professional learning goals: “To continue integrating math and science enrichment into our coursework, as it proves to be a catalyst for students to engage at higher levels, and become more confident independent learners. This will challenge students to connect to the world around them while building knowledge, enhancing their acute critical-thinking skills, and building their lexicon and abstract logical processing. For example, I have done a few Zoom calls connecting students and families from my former school with engineers at NASA, most recently the project manager of the Orion capsule on Artemis 1. I would like to arrange more opportunities like that, to provide an experience of how math and science engage in the real world for highly sophisticated space exploration. Math and science support each other; bringing them together is invaluable for young learners — the problem-solvers of the future.”
Personal learning goals: “To continue advancing my knowledge of abstract geometry and trigonometry to provide additional enrichment to students at all grade levels.”
LALITA NELMS
Instructor, English Language Development and Interdisciplinary STEM Essay Writing
Professional learning goals: “One of the ground rules of my virtual classrooms is, ‘Different opinions are encouraged and allowed.’ I provide a forum for students to share the gems they procure through their reading, research, and studies. In addition, while students may bring a great deal of knowledge to the table, they may lack confidence and find it a challenge to connect with others. By the end of each semester, my goal is to help them find their voice and make connections with their peers that inspire confidence.”
Personal learning goals: “STEM is all around us, and it is a personal goal to be alert to news of breakthroughs in science and technology and take the time to read more about them. I would also like to refresh my knowledge of the periodic table. My students have introduced me to some of the fascinating attributes of some of the elements, and that has sparked a desire to learn even more.”
DAN SIEVERS
Instructor, Various Math Courses; Reading Intervention Specialist
Professional learning goals: To learn about students’ interests and incorporate them into classroom lessons: “Everyone is good at something, and educators need to develop relationships in order to discover what interests their individual students. A question as simple as, ‘What are you doing this weekend?’ might lead to an area of strength or passionate interest. This facilitates classroom growth as you apply ambitions, goals, practice and perseverance from students’ real-life experiences to the academic setting.”
Personal learning goals: “Leaving the mathematics classroom for a reading program is now a welcomed opportunity to enhance my own personal learning curve and tap into that growth mindset. The pedagogy differences are striking, and I seek to improve my own professional skill set.”
JENNA FUSCO
Instructor, Algebra 2
Professional learning goals: “I teach talented students in the U.S. Virgin Islands through a CTY course that serves as their main math instruction for the academic year. I hope to educate my students by giving them a love for math they didn’t know they had; to engage them virtually in various ways, and create a deep understanding of the topics we cover. I hope to inspire them to continue on in the program to take more advanced math courses.”
Personal learning goals: “To learn a technological software that will help engage my students and hit different modalities of learning. I hope to continue to learn new ways to teach fractions, as I feel that is a topic where students often struggle. My goal is to make math entertaining and relatable.”
KELI WALLS
CTY Director of Online Experiences
Professional learning goals: “My work includes ensuring that CTY delivers quality, innovative, and inclusive online courses that challenge students’ thinking, spark their interest and creativity, and empower them to be active learners. This year, my goal is to make sure courses include more open-ended questions and student choice in the types of assignments and projects offered. I also aim to ensure courses have highly qualified instructors with the knowledge and skills to help students maximize their potential, while creating a safe space for them to think outside the box. And I want to create opportunities for students to make real-world connections, especially when it comes to solving problems that impact their community.”
Personal learning goals: “I plan to enroll in a data analytics program that will build on my knowledge base, and help me with data-driven decision-making. I also plan to take two management courses at the JHU Carey Business School, Essentials of Leadership Coaching and Leading Inclusively.
Also, reading more! A book that I am about to start reading is Grace not Perfection, by Emily Ley. I chose this because in 2023, I desire to focus on what’s important — to live with purpose and be intentional about how I spend my time.”
JOHANNA JEZOWSKI
Instructor, The Physics of Engineering and Algebra 1
Professional learning goal: “To help students see the innate beauty and intricate patterns within mathematics and its applications by engaging their curiosity and discovery. I want to help students see and understand the connections and relationships between seemingly disparate concepts. For example, I like to use a Sierpiński Triangle to help students look at exponential patterns, which helps when we cover geometric sequences.”
Personal learning goal: “To learn and practice new knitting stitches. Just like in math, I love seeing the patterns and symmetry in my knitting projects.”
KATHLEEN WEAVER
Instructor, Various Computer Science Courses
Professional learning goal: “To increase my knowledge in the topics I teach so I can use that knowledge to challenge my students.”
Personal learning goal: “To learn more about cybersecurity. I usually start by following people who mention a topic I am interested in. For example, I’m currently following several people on Twitter who talk about cybersecurity. After a while, I’ll start asking them to send me to references that will guide me. Once I learn about a topic, I start writing about it myself, but I try to simplify my findings. A few times, it has resulted in my teaching a course on the subject.”
RACHEL FIERRO
Instructor, Elementary and Middle School Computer Science Courses
Professional learning goals: “The world of computer science is constantly evolving and changing, so there is always something new and exciting to learn and share! My students often have big ideas for a project, and I enjoy helping them make their ideas a reality while also challenging myself to help them extend or add to that idea.”
Personal learning goals: “My personal goal for the last few years has been to learn a new programming language or tool. This year I would like to set a goal of studying ethics in Computer Science, especially as it relates to artificial intelligence and computer science education. With new AI tools available now or on the horizon, I believe ethics will be even more important to our goal of providing a full computer science education.”
What are your learning goals for 2023? Share them in the comments!
