Becoming a Reflective Educator
A Synthesis Essay
Image reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org
In the summer of 2014 I accepted a teaching position for which I will forever be thankful. Before this opportunity came along, I was about ready to give up on my short-lived goal of being a teacher. I had completed my first year of teaching seventh grade mathematics in an urban setting followed by a year of substitute teaching in a small, rural middle school. These experiences were difficult to adjust to and I found myself unmotivated to be the innovative, engaging teacher I always pictured I would be. My husband and I were moving back to Michigan so I thought it would be a great time for a career change. Thankfully, I was pushed to give teaching another chance. Within a week into the new school year I knew I had finally found it – the teaching position I had always dreamed of finding. As I settled into my teaching routines I began to feel that there was more I could offer to my students. I decided to enroll in Michigan State University’s Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program with the goal of improving my understanding and ability to teach mathematics and science and to become more knowledgeable of how to incorporate more technology into the classroom. Throughout all of the classes taken this past year of studying I learned the ultimate lesson: how to be a reflective educator.
One of the first courses I took in the MAED program was Teaching School Subject Matter With Technology (TE 831). I was interested in taking this course because the topic of study was exactly why I entered the program. I had used the technology available to me in a limited number of ways, mainly to project images and text on the SMART Board, and use iPads for students to research and play math games. I knew there was more I could do to engage my digital learners and make class time more meaningful, but I wasn’t sure exactly where to start. I was hopeful that TE 831 would give me some ideas or resources to take back into my classroom. Not only did I gain valuable experience using new platforms of technology, but more importantly, this course introduced me to the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. I was suddenly aware that using technology for the sake of “using technology” was not as beneficial to my students as I once thought. This was my first reflective lesson as I mulled over how I previously used tech tools in my classroom without analyzing how the tool could specifically work with the content and pedagogical style. With this reflection, I saw clearly that many of my lessons, activities, and assessments could be made more enriching by rethinking and remixing the technology used and how it could be implemented.
One of my favorite assignments throughout the MAED program was remixing a unit on the rock cycle to incorporate a digital aspect. After reflecting on my original form of assessment (a pen and paper fill-in template), I was determined to find a digital tool to allow my students to demonstrate their understanding of the rock cycle in a creative but informative way. I researched and tested out several different creation and presentation tools that would allow students to include text, images, and videos. Using the TPACK framework, I successfully remixed the unit to be relevant, engaging, and technology-rich. I now reflect consistently before and after lessons and units to determine if I am integrating technology effectively with the individual content and means of instruction.
Exploring vodcasts and various digital presentation tools in TE 831 was just the beginning of an exciting journey of becoming a more reflective educator. Learning Mathematics With Technology (CEP 805) gave me the opportunity to further expand my tech tool repertoire and equipped me with knowledge of how to choose an appropriate tool. Throughout this course I worked collaboratively with my peers to evaluate various applets, websites, and interactive tools useful for teaching and learning mathematics by following a set of evaluation criteria. I learned that it’s important to not only look at what standards the tool addresses, but how the tool addresses the standards. I became very familiar with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Principles and Standards of School Mathematics (PSSM) as we analyzed each by content strand to help align a tool with the specific standards. With very little prior experience with the CCSS and the PSSM, I am now very accustomed to how these standards are organized.
To determine how the tool addresses the standards it is important to look at the five strands of mathematical proficiency. By keeping these strands in mind while examining the tool, you are able to determine if the tool will help the student reach conceptual understanding, help with procedural fluency, or if the tool could be focused on strategic competence, for example. After looking at these strands, I was able to determine how the tool could be used within a lesson in order to be effective. Before this course I did not give much thought into why or how I would use a digital tool in my classroom. I am now very reflective and critical when searching for a new app or website to introduce to my students so that I can choose the right tools to help my students achieve mathematical understanding. I not only look at the technical aspects like which browser would work best, but also what affordances the technology brings to the activity. Does the tool allow for multiple students to interact or is it more suited for individual exploration? Are my students going to be practicing skills or will they find a deeper understanding? These are a few of the questions that run through my mind as I search for and evaluate new tech tools for my classroom.
While CEP 805 provided me with a great platform on how to integrate technology into mathematics teaching, I gained more understanding of the current debates surrounding the practices of educational mathematics in Teaching School Mathematics (TE 855). I read many articles and had discussions with my peers regarding the difference between conceptual understanding and procedural fluency and the importance of mathematical discussion. This work forced me to reflect on my own lessons and discourse in my classrooms as well as pay more attention to my students’ responses. I began to see that the differences in my students’ knowledge stemmed from their willingness, or lack thereof, to commit to conceptual understanding. It was clear to me that in order to improve understanding I had to frame my lessons around more conceptual models and activities. I also now purposely plan lessons to include time for discourse, whether it is with the whole class, partner, or group based. This has led to my students being more comfortable with explaining their solutions and has led to deeper understanding of mathematical content.
Another big part of TE 855 that has impacted my current practice was the research I conducted on technology use in the classroom. This report was my way of blending what I had learned in CEP 805 with my new understanding of the importance of conceptual understanding and mathematical discourse. Additionally, I was interested in this topic because it was, again, the whole reason why I wanted to continue taking classes. I researched the effective use of technology and its impact on engagement in the mathematics classroom. During this research I examined several different modes of educational technology including game-based learning, tablets, and flipped classrooms. From utilizing tablets and educational apps, to students learning through the creation or play of games, and flipping the classroom model, I found that students show increased enjoyment, engagement, and achievement in all three modes. What these three modes have in common is the responsibility it puts on the students. In many ways, using technology in these methods hands the control of the classroom over to the students. By reading about several positive classroom experiences with all three of these modes of learning I came to the conclusion that with the right planning, reflection, and keeping TPACK in mind, students can be engaged and learn with any form of tech tool.
While TE 855 helped me understand how to improve my mathematics teaching, Inquiry, Nature of Science (TE 861B) gave me valuable information about refining my science teaching. Through this course I was introduced to the Ambitious Science Teaching Framework, which has greatly impacted my science lesson planning. I was able to watch videos of teachers using this method of teaching and analyze the talk moves, tasks, and tools used to engage students in authentic science learning. This framework has given me a new understanding of how students should be learning scientific content by actively participating in tasks and solving authentic problems. In addition to focusing on ambitious science teaching, we studied the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Before this course I had very little experience with the NGSS, but my school has recently decided to blend our current standards with NGSS so I was grateful for the opportunity to dissect these standards. Upon studying these standards, I learned that they are a blend of science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas.
Most importantly, from TE 861B I learned that a major component of integrating the NGSS and ambitious science teaching into my classroom is providing opportunities for inquiry-based instruction. Inquiry-based instruction allows for students to use their natural curiosity and prior knowledge to drive instruction. This leads to authentic, powerful, and engaging experiences for both the students and the teacher. Through this course I once again began to reflect upon my teaching and to think of ways to adapt my instruction so that I could improve upon the science learning in my classroom. I successfully revised a mini-unit in the electromagnetic spectrum to be inquiry-based and look forward to utilizing this method of teaching into more of my units in the future.
Throughout the MAED program I have explored new tech tools to use in my classroom, I have examined how the use of technology can improve student learning in mathematics, and I have analyzed the role of inquiry-based learning in the science classroom. Most importantly, I have transformed into a reflective educator. With this new understanding of educational technology, and mathematics and science practices and standards I am motivated to consistently reflect upon and revise my teaching in order to meet the ever-changing needs of my students.
An example of using a digital program (Glogster) to create a model of the rock cycle.
The Five Strands of Mathematics Proficiency. Image retrieved from nap.edu
Students using iPads in math (above) and science (below).