The benefits of networking

Collaborating with peers is crucial within any space, whether it be professionally or academically.

Collaborating can look like the following:

- Networking

- Providing feedforward

- Sharing thoughts, ideas, and resources

- Holding one another accountable for deadlines

- Providing support or clarity

These attributes from my classmates have truly helped me get to where I am in this program. I have always said in some instances, students learn better from their peers than from their instructors, but I never imagined that would also hold true for an adult. At the beginning of my ADL program, I was reluctant to collaborate and did not offer much to my group. Since time has elapsed, I have become more vocal and forthcoming with my thoughts. One thing I would like to improve on is, providing meaningful feedforward. Currently, my feedforward is usually surface level, but I want to be able to reflect on myself and my peers’ work so we can continue to grow in this program.

The role of the growth mindset is to keep us motivated and excited about facing new challenges. It also keeps us on a steady incline of learning, because the most important part is learning, even if it is from failures. Most importantly, it prepares us for feedback and feedforward because we are given the tools to make proper adjustments and not dwell on what did not work. It also requires us to take on the challenges people present to us, to capitalize on our capabilities.

This year I was part of a 3D printing Microsoft Teams with my school district. This team was incredibly beneficial because I was able to troubleshoot issues with my printer, find inspiration, present my student work, and stay up to date on printing competitions in the parish. This was important for me because there was only one other teacher who had a 3D printer at the time, so we needed to outsource to gain the necessary knowledge to print. Now that I have gained that knowledge over the school year, I can now assist other teachers that will or already have received a 3D printer. I have also followed Education Week and Edutech for Teachers. Being in these learning networks is beneficial to me and my team because I can bring back the knowledge I learn to our staff, and we can personalize it to fit our students’ needs.