Secondary Ed with a Love for Second Grade

Today, I entered a classroom for the first time. When I say this, I don’t mean that I’ve never physically been in a class before (I wouldn’t be here if that was the case). I have been in plenty of my own classes as well as those that I tutored throughout my high school and freshman year of college career. I mean that this was my first experience in a classroom as an official future teacher. As nerve wracking as it was to enter a classroom knowing I too was being observed, I was extremely excited to see what was in store.

This excitement only increased when I discovered that over a third of the students in the 2^nd grade class I was observing were from the 1^st grade classroom I tutored in just last year. Seeing their smiling faces as they recognized me on their way in cured all anxieties I was feeling towards being in a new room. It was an instant reminder that I wasn’t coming to the classroom for myself but for them. As much as teaching is something I am pursuing because I enjoy it, it should more so be about making it a meaningful and enjoyable experience for my students. A teacher’s job is to selflessly give so that his or her children are successful.

Other than the simple joy of seeing familiar faces and being able to assist at two math stations (Yes, I nerded out a little bit), my main take away from today’s observation is how impressed I am with my clinical educator’s class management. Some of her students were separated into two primary learning groups for reading and vocabulary where the two teachers could give personalized attention to each student. The other students were split amongst four, smaller stations for individualized practice. While those at the smaller stations were not with the teacher directly, they followed instructions without disrespect. Even students that I knew struggled to pay attention last year were doing as they were told without complaint. For me, this was a shock.

Watching my more energetic students follow instructions seamlessly showed me just how important it is to establish expectations for what is and isn’t acceptable in the classroom. It was evident that the atmosphere my clinical educator had created was both understanding and demanding of respect. This was also shown in how she monitored the group sharing an iPad for any conduct issues (i.e. not sharing, on the wrong game, etc). As I look ahead, having an aura similar to this is one of my goals. So many students I know zone out or goof off in their math classes because they are either lost or hopelessly bored. When I have my own classroom, I hope to engage my students in such a way that they can enjoy their growing process.

A New Attitude

              As deep as my Education 250 class gets during each meeting, I constantly leave with many large “takeaways” on the topics and concepts we discuss. Although the session ends for the day, my brain continues on, digesting all that has been introduced to it. This week, however, has been vastly different. We only met as a class once due to our professors’ conference and our need to work on our philosophy projects.

A great deal of this class time was spent in preparation for our first clinical experience. We discussed logistics, expectations and how/when we will be debriefing. It is incredibly hard to believe that we will be making our first venture to a local elementary school. There, we will attend various classes and observe the different teaching styles and overall atmospheres set in the rooms. While I have tutored in elementary school classrooms before, I am extremely excited to return looking through a new lens. My hope is that I will have a heightened perception of the different aspects of a teacher so that I may see things I have never seen before. I believe this will primarily be due to all that I have learned over the short month that I have spent in Education 250. I already feel as if I am approaching education with a completely refreshed mindset and I am eager to see how it will affect my direct classroom experience.

While this conversation gave me great encouragement and a lot to process, my brain has been fixated on one claim Dr. Parker made within the first fifteen minutes of class.

“Teacher education is like medical school.” –Jason Parker

Although it was probably meant as a small warning to take our clinical experiences seriously, I have taken it to mean so much more. Being a teacher is a serious profession. Even though many have belittling views due to negative experiences during their own schooling or the salary associated with it, teachers have a great deal of responsibility.

As future teachers, we have the power to care for others from many angles. We have the power to empower future generations as they grow to eventually take charge. We have the power to impact our children in ways that can change their lives from negativity and struggle to optimism and strength. For these reasons, it is not something to be taken lightly. Becoming a teacher means becoming an example for how we want the future to look and what values we want to be upheld. Therefore, it is only appropriate to train rigorously so that we are well prepared for whatever obstacles we will face. Although it’s hard and the workload is rough, it is worth every step of the journey.

Facilitating FUN in Math

As I round out my Wednesday, I can’t help but stop in awe of all that I have accomplished in my Education 250 class over the past week. It has been particularly draining as my workouts and homework have increased and my sleep has steadily decreased. However, this class keeps me on my toes as my professors start the day’s lesson. Even though I do the TeachScape modules, I never enter the room fully knowing what will be covered that day. What I do know is that I will exit with numerous “teaching moments” and “getting real for a moment” concepts to ponder. Regardless of how energy deprived I feel when I enter, I always leave encouraged and full of life.

This past week has been especially full of food for thought as we took rabbit trails throughout our discussions. Today, we explored NCTCS 4 which is the standard for how teachers are to facilitate learning in their classrooms. While it started humbly with how we are to integrate technology (4d), it quickly escalated to the TPACK Model and how technology should be used as a scaffold and not as the sole source of content. As we made connections between content, technology and pedagogy, I couldn’t help but think back to school days where my class would be taken to the computer lab for hours on end to have the screen teach us. I can even reflect on instances in college in which my professor only showed us how to do the problems on the computer and did not teach any separate lesson.

In my pursuit of math education, I find the task of meeting 4d even more taxing because I am called to do more than what I have been exposed. Unlike history and English, most math problems do not require the same depth of research. When there is background for mathematical concepts, it isn’t a flashy story like one would find when researching the Civil War or the gold rush. Mathematical research is much more cut and dry. I can personally attest to the fact that they do not strike excitement. The only resources that do seem to strike excitement are those that solve math problems for you, supplying both the work and the answer. As I enter my career, I want to make it more than just a tool for cheating. How will I use technology as a scaffold instead of an unplanned nap time or effortless plugging in of equations?

              Along with this, how will I make my assignments and assessments meaningful and thorough without my students feeling like they’ve been drilled to exhaustion? When I discuss math with others, a commonality I have found is that they feel like the homework from their classes is too extensive. While I understand that math teachers must evaluate their students’ abilities to work concepts at a range of difficulties, I also have experienced assignments that have kept me stressing into the wee hours of the morning. A big part of understanding mathematical concepts is through repetitive practice. How can I avoid these late night breakdowns among my students while still giving them sufficient practice?

              In my high school calculus classes, a way my teacher dodged the bullet of high stress take home assignments was her method of grading them. Rarely were we assessed by the answers we got for every single problem. Instead, we were graded on our ability to present our work for a random problem from the assignment the next morning. If there were questions from classmates, we were to explain how and why we used the method we chose. If our answer was incorrect, we would work the problem as a class with the presenter writing on the board as the class thought through the steps aloud. In my opinion, this was an extremely effective means of learning the material. We weren’t expected to fully understand every single answer the first time, but we were expected to work through our struggle spots together. We would notice common mistakes together and see how to overcome them. In the future, I definitely plan to implement parts of this in my classroom. While I can’t completely eliminate individual assessment, this method both decreases pressure to avoid embarrassment but also promotes critical thinking, teamwork and a deeper understanding of how the problems work.