This year, I have faced many challenges in learning to teach and I addressed those challenges in specific ways to improve my teaching. One of my greatest challenges was establishing myself as an authority figure in the classroom, yet someone who is also approachable to students. I have found that my age, stature, voice, and friendly demeanor can all contribute to the challenge of being viewed as an authority. One student once remarked, “We would listen to you better if your voice was deeper.” However, as I have build relationships with these students, I have found that this has also improved their willingness to accept me as an authority figure, as well as giving them a reason to buy in to my lessons. Several students have recently commented to me that they feel much more comfortable asking questions and sharing ideas in my classroom than in their other classes, and one added that he had grown to respect all teachers more because I had been able to use my youth and knowledge of video games to relate to him.
Another challenge was learning to predict student mistakes and misconceptions. Before teaching a lesson, I think about where student misconceptions could arise, and use this to prepare techniques for orchestrating discussions that address why the misconceptions exist and what the correct interpretation of the material is. However, as this was my first time teaching Algebra to middle school students, I was unable to foresee some misconceptions. This created challenges in teaching, because I had to adapt my lessons on the fly in order to resolve these misconceptions early, before they solidified and occupied a more permanent status in student understanding. One occasion when student misconceptions particularly interfered with student understanding was when both my Algebra 7 and Math 8 students were learning to solve equations. Many students adapted quickly to using reversed Order of Operations to solve an equation for a variable. Then, when we started solving equations with like terms on the same side of the equation, students started applying that same idea to combining those like term, using the reverse operation instead of the written operation. I had not predicted that my students would try to apply the ideas of solving equations with reverse operations to this previous topic; in later classes that day that were learning the same material, I was better able to head off this misconception early in the learning process, which helped those students to pick up the new concepts more easily. For that first class, we spent a small additional portion of time comparing the occasions when you combine like terms using the written operation and when you use reverse operations to solve, and students were then more successful with the new material.
A third challenge I have faced this year has been learning to use technology meaningfully and effectively in the classroom. In the world of education, the use of technology grows increasingly relevant, particularly as technology becomes ever more pervasive in students’ lives. In my classroom this year, I had Casio graphing calculators and an Elmo projector. Beyond that, I had occasional, infrequent access to a classroom set of iPads. When I use technology in my classroom, I want it to support student learning, rather than just be technology for technology’s sake. Early in the year, I realized that my students did not understand how to effectively use a graphing calculator, as they relied on them heavily for simple calculations but had never used a calculator to make graphs or tables. In response to this, I began developing lessons that taught students how to use the calculators for these functions, and I noticed an improvement in the way my students engaged with the technology, using it to support their learning rather than as a hindrance. Now, I see many students using the calculators to support different strategies to solving the same problem, such as using a table or a graph to check their work on solving a system of equations. For this same purpose, we also worked with Desmos on the iPads, because the usability is better than a graphing calculator and it seems to be more effective in helping students visualize and compare relationships.
I have leaned away from using activities like “Kahoot!” this year because I observed that a portion of students would try to answer the question immediately without reading the choices, in hopes of being the first to get the question correct. In the excitement of playing a game in class, these students overlooked the mathematical component of the activity and thus experienced little growth. I have been working to develop strategies that reduce this effect and instead provide formative assessment value to the activity. For example, I have found that using “Kahoot!” as a means to check answers after students have had time to work on problems is particularly effective, as it ensures that the students are not purely guessing while showing them and me where their understanding lies, at the same time making the review process engaging for the students.
I have identified three areas of growth in my teaching practice that I would like to continue to work on. Below, I detail those three areas and discuss what activities and resources I will use to improve my practice in these areas.
Playing the role of a warm demander: A warm demander is a teacher who has high expectations and challenges students, but also develops strong personal relationships with the students. In this way, the teacher is able to establish a sense of authority, but also has a connection with the students that creates mutual understanding and respect. In order to improve my practice as a warm demander, I will need to begin this endeavor on my first day next year. In order to communicate my expectations to students but also demonstrate that I value their input and ideas, I will have students participate in developing classroom norms on the first day, as well as discussing what should happen if those expectations are not met. For example, one expectation will be that all members of a group should be participating in some way, whether it be recording ideas, sketching diagrams, or asking questions. If one member of the group is not participating, they are depriving their classmates of valuable thoughts, so it is the group’s responsibility to be encouraging toward that student. If that student continues to not participate, then I will have a one-on-one discussion with them to remind them of classroom expectations and why we (as a class) have those expectations. In this way, I hope to establish a community sense of responsibility for each other’s learning, and high expectations for how that is achieved. I also plan to use my fellow teachers, my administrators, and children’s parents as resources to learn more about my students to support my development of high but fair expectations for each individual student.
Preparing for misconceptions: One resource I can use to better predict and prepare for student misconceptions is my own experience as a teacher. As I have more experience with teaching, I will also be more familiar with the types of misconceptions held by students. This, however, does not predict all possible misconceptions, so I will also use the internet to find blogs and posts by other teachers about common misconceptions with those topics. Additionally, I plan to use available research on teaching different topics in mathematics to both better predict what misconceptions there may be, as well as to prepare strategies for using these misconceptions productively to build into the a better understanding.
Using technology in meaningful ways: I would like to regularly integrate technology into my lessons in meaningful ways, so that the technology is enhancing student learning, rather than distracting. The frequency with which I can use such technology depends on multiple factors, including the availability of that technology within the school. Another significant factor is my own experience, as I am only familiar with a limited set of programs and technologies for classroom use. Early in my career, I will start by using familiar resources such as the online CMP Student Activities* and Desmos. As I gain experience, I plan to develop my own activities or modify existing activities (many of which are accessible through a simple Google search) to build my repertoire. Over time, I will learn to use different platforms, particularly as the technological landscape evolves and new technologies become available) and develop strategies to enhance the outcomes of these activities. For this purpose, I will also use my fellow teachers for ideas, as many will be more experienced with current educational technology.