Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Growth Assessment
Marty G. Scarberry II
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GROWTH ASSESSMENT 2
S GROWTH ASSESSMENT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
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Table of Contents pg. 2
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Personal Growth pg. 3
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Technical Growth pg. 6
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Conclusion pg. 8
References pg. 9
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GROWTH ASSESSMENT 3
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e Personal Growth
My life has been blessed and I am very happy with who I am. I joined Azusa Pacific
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because I needed to grow spiritually. Azusa Pacific University has helped me more than I could
have dreamed. I also wanted to also improve myself mentally and grow cognitively. One thing
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I did not expect to do was grow so much affectively. There were so many instances where I
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My father-in-law is a preacher and so was his father. I took my children to church most
of their childhood, but APU and this program allowed me to grow spiritually more than I have
in my entire life. By participating in and completing Our Foundation assignments and forums,
weekly discussions, and end of course growth assessments, I was able to share and discuss God
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in new ways. This program has helped me see God in my life and the need for me to do his
work every day! It also gave me the ability to see the big picture and the ability to understand
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that I could share my beliefs and change the world globally!
APU saved me cognitively too! After moving to the desert I realized I needed to work
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Psychology, John Cacioppo, health consequences of feeling lonely can trigger psychological and
cognitive decline (Bergland, 2014). I have many friends in the desert, but not as many God
fearing, moral, good people that I was used to up north. APU filled that need with great models for
r instructors and an amazing Cadre to share my experiences with! Cacioppo also found that feeling
isolated from others can: disrupt sleep, elevate blood pressure, increase morning rises in the stress
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hormone Cortisol, alter gene expression in immune cells, increase depression, and lower overall
subjective well-being...all of these factors conspire to disrupt optimal brain function, connectivity,
reduce cognitive function and most of it was happening to me (Bergland, 2014). After completing
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this program my health and ability to
Through all my education, credentials, etc. none have been benefited my growth as much as
r APUs Master of Educational Technology program. By creating some amazing global projects,
profession development videos, team plans and projects are also things that I never imagined could
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be so good! We helped each other through team projects, personal tragedies and triumphs! Being
with like-minded people has given me the opportunity to develop and share my passion for
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Personally, I would have never dreamed that there were such good people, out in the
world, as the Professors and Cadre members at APU. The professionalism and deep spirituality
of all has been so influential on me spiritually, cognitively, and affectively. I will never forget
the camaraderie, the passion for learning, education, and God in all of our assignments, lessons,
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meetings, forums, and in everything we did. My personal growth has made me healthier and
happier. All of these experiences will give me confidence for life to continue to put God first and
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continue to do Gods work every day!
Professional Growth
Professional growth was also very important to me. My wife and I found that no matter how
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good ones test scores, parent satisfaction, or student success there is always a lot of pressure as a
teacher! We watched very poor quality teachers in every way get promoted or position because of
friendships, fired up, etc. One of the things admin would use to justify their actions would be a
r Masters degree. So, this degree has great importance to my professional growth and pride. Not
only will this growth help in the classroom, it will also advance my teaching career. It will also
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open doors to other opportunities and employment possibilities. I am a small town boy but now,
through this program, I have a global view and plan on using it!
Through sharing many projects, websites, etc. with my Cadre mates and instructors I
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received more feedback than I ever have. My ability to use that feedback has grown and will
allow me to better modify work that provides a learning environment and lesson plans that
better meet the learning needs of every student. These changes will help the students develop a
r deeper understanding of concepts the will help the students retain the information and transfer it
to new situations and future math or science classes. Improving my ability to modify lessons will
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also allow me to meet the individual needs of each class which has its own needs.
Through many collaborations, I was able to receive and provide more support and greater
background detail which has led to my greater understanding and retention. These changes have
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provided me with the necessary foundation to be successful in not only my classroom but also in
professional development system that has been locally developed with teachers and tied to quality
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professional development standards such as those of the National Staff Development Council
(NSDC) (York, 2015). As teachers we all have different views but I think the standard is, and we
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all agree, more education equals more money!
excitingly fast at my job and I am able to master anything that involves technology. My students
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are also far ahead of their peers with regards to technology in every way! Once I receive my
degree, I will be at the highest pay step for my years of service and that increases 10 years
further than without! I am also so confident, with my B.S. in Instructional Technology and this
r Masters degree program that I am considering applying for an Instructional Technology position
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Technical Growth
surprised to say that my Technical Growth was the strongest. I didnt realize how much
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collaboration would help me with making better websites, videos, graphics, professional
development, site plans, and more. I was also able to incorporate my beliefs and value systems in
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a global effort. Another thing I did not expect was how much I would involve my students with
my Masters and their learning. Being able to create amazing Digital Citizens with advanced
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I have grown so much technologically it now takes me a quarter of the time or less to
create things like Adobe Acrobat DC PDFs through a collaborative assignment, surveys and
assessments, websites and web tools, presentations like the Technology, Education and Copyright
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Harmonization Act (T.E.A.C.H. Act) video and Google slides, eNotebooks and Global Learning
Plans, by creating a photo composite and presenting it for broadcasting on YouTube, a Major
Applied Research Project (MARP); CK12.org instructional video, completing a Massive Open
Online Course (MOOC) from John's Hopkins University, Implementation Plan, professional
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development video on scientific information, all the while
GROWTH ASSESSMENT 7
students now turn in Google docs, videos, Google slides, Word docs, research projects, and
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A small group has even created a team to start an online 3D design company that they are
funding through GoFundMe. The fact is, from an article last year in Education Week,
Technology is everywhere in education: Public schools in the United States now provide at
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least one computer for every five students. They spend more than $3 billion per year on digital
content (Herold, 2016). With my technology background I wasnt using technology with my
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students enough until now!
APU has not only helped me to grow in every area in todays modern technological world
but all of my students as well. It has also given me the spiritual courage to use those technology
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skills and do Gods work worldwide. My job, students learning and their success has improved
dramatically! I have the happiest and most engaged students in the school. I was so proud of how
much time and effort they put into their state testing online. The Education Week article also stated,
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in 2015-16, for the first time, more state standardized tests for the elementary and middle grades
will be administered via technology than by paper and pencil (Herold, 2016). It is one of the
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biggest transitions in education history and because of Azusa Pacifics Masters Degree in
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My life has been lived around education for almost 40 years! I think I am going to get out in
the world and share my knowledge as much as I can and learn some too! I am at the point where I
want to create and do something more for the world! I will continue to devour new technology and
y new innovations, so I may keep up with students, and stay on the cutting edge! God has pushed and
carried me through to this point and I trust his fingertips will guide me through my continued
learning and career. I may seek an admin credential, a PhD, a single subject, or some other amazing
new thing down the road. I will also continue to attend every professional development offered by
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my site, district, state, and nation!
Conclusion
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There are not enough words to express how much APU, and all involved, has helped me to
grow! Sharing the experience with such wonderful students and staff was an added bonus! I am
able to communicate with much more empathy, compassion, and strength in my personal and
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professional life! My career and my students is much more successful because of this amazing
program. Being able to bring God into my life personally and professionally has created such a
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Gods fingertips are now in everything I do. This Educational Technology program has
given me the ability to join God and technology into my teaching. More rewarding it the positive
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effect it has had on my students and their success. It is more satisfying than I could have ever
imagined! I am grateful for all of the lessons from the bottom of my heart and hope to share that
with others so they may find something that I have searched for my whole life. Peace.
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GROWTH ASSESSMENT 9
References
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201403/eight-habits-improve-
c cognitive-function
York, C. (2015). Education Association. Principles for a Professional Growth Salary Schedule.
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Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/52140.htm
r http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/
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