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COVA Reflection and Application
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Initially, when I started the graduate-level program, I had yet to decide what to expect. It had been more than two decades since I completed my undergraduate degree, and I was still determining if I was prepared for the challenges of a graduate program. As I progressed through the program, I was introduced to the concepts of choice and ownership, which I initially needed help to grasp since my career had been defined by structured outcomes aligned with standards.
However, halfway through the program, Dr. Grogan's class helped me understand the concept of authentic learning. The creation of my e-portfolio and the research I conducted on the effectiveness of e-portfolios helped me comprehend the idea better. I wasn't prepared for the learning experience of actual ownership in this program.
At first, I considered using e-portfolios in social studies content, but I needed to be more passionate about it to create an e-portfolio. The course made more sense to me after shifting my focus to a business course, a subject I was passionate about. I also realized that the skills I learned in creating my e-portfolio would translate to a more meaningful and authentic learning environment for my students.
As a result of this program, I now have a personal innovation plan. I pitched the idea of creating an Entrepreneurship 2 course on our campus, where the capstone project would involve students completing their e-portfolios based on the lessons and activities in the course where the student creates their business proposal.
In the Entrepreneurship 2 course, I integrated the COVA model into my class. During the first week of school, students completed a personal survey to assess their preferences and give them an accessible summary of the various opportunities. The conversation about what they were interested in started here. Students then created a business proposal based on their ideas. To encourage flexibility in the process, students create a "lean canvas" business proposal that allows them to change ideas and modify their initial concept as we complete lessons and activities related to a specific section on their "Lean Canvas."
Students also have the choice to decide if they are interested in a service-related business or one that has a physical product. To encourage ownership of the lessons and work products we are creating, I also made a course in the LMS system outside the district's LMS system to create greater ownership for my graduating seniors, along with the e-portfolio that the students will be starting in the spring semester. The goal of making the separate course and the e-portfolio is to allow the students to have artifacts and a product that they can use later in the future.
However, one of the challenges I encountered with my students in integrating the COVA model was the student emphasis on just the grade. The focus has purely been on the grade and graduation versus the learning process for some students. Students often needed to be more willing to take ownership of a topic. A common question I received is, "What will my grade be if I change this?" or the lack of interest or ownership in the ideas of the course because the students are just being compliant to pass the course but do not own the larger picture of COVA.
Teaching an elective course that offers more flexibility in projects and content delivery to students is a fortunate situation. However, I have also prepared for state-tested content with the required exit ticket, pacing guides, and data analysis of students who either "meet expectation" or fail to meet expectations. Therefore, I hesitate to share the COVA model with many teachers who teach tested content. I think that there are some elements of COVA, such as "Choice," that may be used on a small scale with some assignments, but voice and authentic learning may present challenges due to the pacing guides in many tested subjects. However, I have plans to share and help teachers in the business department integrate the COVA model into their courses.
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