Emily Matera's Blogs

       Chapter 6 of The Connected Educator by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach explores how an individual can build their own learning community to grow as both a learner and an educator. Personally, I found many takeaways in this chapter, along with real-life connections that I have made through my years of experience.       Currently, I work 2 jobs while I am at school that are deemed to be more “professional”, and during the summer, I work at my township's summer camp. Over the past 2 years of working as a substitute teacher and in an afterschool program, I have gained experience and knowledge that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten from the summer camp alone. I have taken what I have learned in a more “professional” work environment, and significantly improved in my summer job as a camp counselor. Immersing myself in these two different communities has put me at an advantage, per se, since many of my coworkers at the summer camp job do not hold the same e...

Intro Video  

  Chapter 2 of The Connected Educator by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach introduces the reader to the idea of Connected Learning Communities (CLCs). This big idea of a CLC takes three smaller ideas and integrates them into one: Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), and Communities of Practice (CoPs). The knowledge and benefits from these three methods create a coming together to create a positive, growing community. The chapter focuses primarily on educators, which I can relate to since I have had jobs in the educational field before and want to go into a career that surrounds the classroom environment. In this blog post, I will focus on how this chapter and the information it presents closely connect with my career path as a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA).  Some of a BCBA’s job responsibilities include conducting functional analyses, collecting data, and evaluating treatment for individuals with special needs. The entire job process is ...