Rock Star Theorists

Now that I am at the final stages of my MAT program, it is amazing how much my teaching style has changed. There have been many theorists that have influenced the way I teach from the creation of the lesson to the execution. The theorists that I feel most connected to in my teaching are Piaget and Skinner.

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development has to do with four stages of development. The four stages are sensorimotor (0-2 years of age), preoperational (2-7 years of age), concrete operational (7-12 years of age), and formal operational (12 and up years of age) (American Psychological Association, 2020). The stage that of my students is the last stage of formal operational stage, which involves abstract logical reasoning and moral reasoning development. I connect most with this part of the theory because my students are from 10^th to 12^th graders. In teaching Geometry, the course is mainly about logical reasoning. In addition, I focus more on building the student rather than focusing on stressing about teaching straight math. I want my students to leave as better young adults and having more logical processing over just making impulsive decisions and not thinking about the outcomes, positive or negative.

Skinner’s Behaviorist Theory deals with following behaviors with positive reinforcement (Stevens-Fulbrook, 2019). By rewarding the positive behaviors and not responding to the negative behaviors, strengthens the “good” and weakens the “bad”. I connect with this theory when I reward my students with a show, movie, or some kind of food item. I reward students when they work hard and persevere in my class. I try to reward those classes that work hard with a movie day or extra credit video and questionnaire to follow, where they learn more real world applications for math. When students compete and work hard in my classroom, they are rewarded with a food item like Pop tarts or candy. This motivates my students to put more effort into their education when it comes to what we are learning in my class.

In my teaching, I take pieces from many theorists in creating my lessons for students. I try to do as much as possible to give my students the best chances in succeeding in my class. Though I do want my students to leave my class a better math student, I also want them to leave with more moral values. I want them to leave a better person than when they entered and teach them life lessons they can take with them forever. By incorporating multiple theorist’s ideas in my teaching, I am becoming a more adaptive and flexible teacher to teach to all kinds of students with different backgrounds and abilities.

Reference

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2020). Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/piagetian-theory

Stevens-Fulbrook, P. (2019, April 18). 15 Learning Theories In Education (A Complete Summary). Retrieved from https://teacherofsci.com/learning-theories-in-education/

Reflection

Throughout my journey in the Stevenson MAT Program, I have learned many things that can help me succeed in the classroom and further ahead throughout my career. In my classroom, I try to create a safe and comfortable learning environment that is positive and inviting. I want students to feel that when they walk into my classroom that it is time to learn and have fun. In creating this environment, I work to leave no space uncovered. I used chalk to draw diagrams of different functions and attributes on the concrete walls, hang student posters that demonstrate perfect precision of a skill, and multiple posters that have helpful resources and encouraging messages for students. I want a student to look around my room and be able to find a piece of information that is beneficial to them, whether it is to help with a growth mindset or on a particular problem we are working through. In pushing the envelope on creating an even more engaging and encouraging environment, transforming their perception on how this math can benefit them in the long run.

To push the envelope on my career, this program has helped me realize that I cannot just teach for one kind of student and I need to remain flexible and adaptive. My plan for being able to reach all students is to have more tier structured lessons. This will allow students who are exceling to push their thinking and those who are struggling and get a little more scaffolded assistance. I also plan to have more collaborative activities that have students grouped by tier as well so everyone can have an equal chance in learning the concepts. I want to be able to create an equal playing field for each student to be successful. I hope in doing so I can become a more universal teacher and all students that enter my classroom can succeed.

Communication with Administration/ Parents

A lot of times, especially dealing with seniors, I must reach out to administration and parents. This is because there are many interventions, we need to take in order to legally fail a student in our school system. One instance where I had to call a parent was due to a student’s attendance. The student was absent for over a week and was beginning to fail my class. The parent was aware of the student being absent and explained the financial difficulties they were having, so the student was working extra hours at their job. When the student came in the following week, we had a one on one conference and they explained their situation and the situation had turned around. Another instance where I had to contact an administrator was for a student who was being disruptive repeatedly in class. The administrator had a conference with the student and the situation was extinguished.

When dealing with situations with students I try to mediate the situation in the classroom first. Generally, if I level with the student and get to see where the root of the behavior is coming from, they tend to turn around or respond better when redirected. Talking with parents does not need to be an immediate disciplinary act but can be helpful when you are trying to better understand a student. There was one student I had that was in class daily but was more reserved and struggled with interacting with myself and other students. I reached out to their parent and they informed me of some of the issues at home and gave me some incite into what the student was interested in, which helped me to better address the student and get them to be more interactive. I try not to get the administration involved in some circumstances that I can mediate internally, but when it comes to my seniors, I must let them be aware of their status for graduating.

ED 645 Reflection

Classroom management is one of the most important things that a teacher needs in order to be successful. To have good classroom management, there needs to be norms and expectations set in place that students and the teacher need to be held accountable for. If these things are not set in place and the teacher is not consistent, it makes it hard to have an environment where your students will feel safe and want to learn.

When I started teaching in 2017, classroom management was scary to me. I have heard horror stories about some classrooms and how the students basically ran the show. Never teaching before and going into a school where the population is not what I had ever experienced was daunting, but I was going to have to figure it out. I came in stern and strict and soon realized that, that was not going to work. Making adjustments over the last two years, I think I may have found a system that works. I am more personable with my students, fair in my grading and treatment, and hold them accountable. My students respect me and my classroom operates smoothly since we all have a mutual respect and understanding of one another's expectations.

In the coming years of my teaching careers, I am hoping to perfect my classroom management. I hope to do this by trying to find more ways to help relate better to my students and get them more motivated to learn mathematics. I want to find things that interest them and make my lessons and real world scenarios more relateable to their lives and the communities they live in.

Final reflection

Over the past few weeks, I have been trying different methods of teaching. There is a growing push for the use of technology in the classroom and now that all students are given laptops in my school building, they should be used more often. I have been decreasing the number of paper assignments and note sheets and replacing them with online work. My students are seeming to respond better to this method based on their participation in class and improvement in their grades. I have been trying to have students do more exploratory and lab-based assignments that require students to learn on their own a little more. It has seemed to be helping with their retention because I have noticed on the last quiz they took, a lot of my students scored highly.

To be an exemplary teacher, one needs to be patients, caring, and versatile. An exemplary teacher needs to be patient because no everyone’s learning style is the same. If a student does not get it right away, a teacher should have patience and try to find another way to teach it. Being caring is very important as well because as a teacher, students look to you for guidance and if you are not showing that you care, then your students are not going to be willing to learn. Versatile, I think is the most important characteristic because like I mentioned before, not everyone learns the same. Teachers need to be able to adjust on the spot at times for whatever reason. Not all lessons will run smooth or how one plans, but it is important to do your students a service and prepare them for the future.

For the next semester, I have a few goals in mind. I want to one, finish this MAT program and become a certified teacher. I want to make sure that I prepare my AP students for their exam in May the best I can. I am hopeful that I will have a few students do well on this exam. I also want to guide my bridge students in completing their bridge projects, so they can graduate in May, as well. I want to be the best teacher I can be and be a role model for my students. I want to help prepare them for their next chapters in their lives after high school.

Observational Reflection 2

My most recent observation was last week during my AP Statistics class. We were just beginning our probability unit, so we were doing an exploratory lab. Students were to complete a candy lab, which compared colors that come in different types of candy. We looked at Mike & Ike’s, Starbursts, M&M’s, and Skittles. Each student had their own sample of candy they were to predict and collect data with. Then once they collected their data, they were to come together as a group and compare findings, followed by combining their data together. Once they compiled the data, they were to combine the data as a class and compare the findings. The overall idea of this was to use probability to see if we could determine the more popular color candy. I believe it was somewhat successful, but because the lab had a lot of parts to it, it was tough to have a good group discussion at the end due to time.

This lab has proved to be a good indicator of how I could have created mini-lessons to help with the time aspect. I could have had students using the smaller data to do different things and then have another lesson using larger data and then talking about the difference in sample sizes. I think that this would have help with their fluency because they would have been doing multiple hands on activities, which would have made the lessons stick better, than rushing through one big activity. I think this also would have given students time for the information to stick in before beginning a new idea. Though students responded well to the activity, I could tell that the concepts did not fully stick. Most likely there will have to be a reteaching aspect of future lessons. I think mini-lessons for this would have been more effective.

These past two weeks have been hectic. The first quarter was coming to a close and, of course, students had been coming up to ask what they can do to bring up their grade. This time I feel is more stressful for the teacher than the student. I need to have everything from the first quarter graded, grades finalized in the grading system, complete other teacher obligations in the building, and still plan meaningful, effective lessons for three different subjects. I find the close of the quarter to be my busy time.

Being in my third year, I should have this down pat on how to deal with the different stressors teaching has to throw at me, but this one never seems to have an effective solution. In talking to my colleagues in what they do to cope with the stress, I have learned some good tips I want to try next quarter when grades close. One of my colleagues had suggested just not taking work that is more than 2 weeks past due. This is a rule across the board for most teacher and I have it in my syllabus, but culture in the building makes it hard to stand behind this rule when so many kids are failing at once. I think by standing more firm on my rules and expectations, I can eliminate the pressures I feel in grading more than I already have to.

On top of being the end of the marking period, I also had multiple observations. I had a formal observation by my assistant principal, two informal observations by the principal and the department chair, and one by my teacher mentor. When my teacher mentor came, I made sure to plan a lesson that would not be too outside the box and relaxed. I wanted her to see that my classroom operates in a smooth manor with everyone on the same page. I did not let the stress of having an observation get to me and I made sure that everything was as organic as possible. I think the key to having a stress-less observation is to just roll with it. Just do what you normally do, and everything will fall into place. I made sure that day one I set the tone and created a good rapport with all my students, and I think that also helps when it comes to teaching them and making sure they are gaining the knowledge they need to succeed.

Meeting All Student Needs

I am in my third year of teaching and every year I have a different set of learners. I have students that learn better by taking notes, students that learn better by just being exposed to the problem being modelled, and those that require many different opportunities for practice and references. In meeting all these needs, quite the challenge is posed because you must alter each lesson in many ways so that everyone in the room can benefit. Engagement must be high, and everyone must be able to learn.

In trying to meet the needs of my students, I have taken many approaches. I have created poster size anchor charts, with the step by step processes of different things we are working on in class, as well as individual hand outs for those to keep. I have also tried supplying videos during class instruction and for students to have access to who may need extra help. Using different platforms like GeoGebra and Desmos, have also been able to help my students, so I do try to offer practice on those sites.

Moving forward with my career, I do want to try and provide as many students as possible with as many resources and opportunities to learn as possible. I am so used to learning through lecture because that is how my classes were structured in all my years of schooling. With this generation, lecture is as engaging to them. Because I have a variety of learners in one class, I cannot just lecture and expect all students to grasp the knowledge. I want to try and incorporate more exploratory lessons, so give students the chance to learn on their own and be more responsible for their own learning, which is a skill they will need for higher education. They need to be able to learn from an instructor but also on their own time. I want to be more engaging by having more relatable lessons too. I know I learn better through experience and it seems that a lot of my students benefit from it as well, so I want to have more hands-on lessons where students can physical apply the knowledge to something real world. I think that if I pay more attention to the community I teach, I can find things that interest all students and engage them more.

I have to remember while doing all of this that everyone learns differently. I cannot just teach one way or have one type of practice and expect all students to understand the concept. I need to make sure that I have multiple outlets for each student to give them the highest probability for success. Each student has to be given an equal opportunity to learn and so whatever I can find to help them learn better, I will. 

STEM Research Project Reflection

In the past 2 and a half years I have been teaching, I have noticed that the majority of my students, as well as students in other classes, all struggle with one thing, ASSESSMENTS. The traditional multi-assessment question test has stressed a number of my students out to the point where they give up and do not perform well. It baffles me to see that for every subject, there are these types of assessments, as well as State and County exams, where students are required to pass to graduate. I believe that there are other ways to assess student knowledge and comprehension, without pressuring them to perform. For my action research project, I want to compare the performance of students over two units on a multi-assessment question test and a performance-based assessment. I want to see if there is a difference in the type of assessment and the ability for the students to perform. 

I believe that this action research relates greatly to STEM/ STEAM education. In the "real world", a lot of what you are assessed on is your ability to perform the task at hand. There are less multi-assessment question tests and more can you do your job. I believe that having students "do their job" and have the liberty to show their understanding through something more hands on and creative can also better prepare them for the real world. My students seem to learn better through experience, so having them "experience" the unit through a performance assessment, I think will not only improve their retention, but also help them convey their understanding better. I think a performance-based assessment is not only more applicable to students, but also more of a STEM approach to teaching and learning. 

STEM Teaching Reflection

This year marks my 3^rd year of teaching. I have not seen how many other classrooms operate, so I am a career changer and have been learning as I go and implementing the learning I have gained since I joined the MAT program last Fall. In my classroom, I tend to use problem-based learning and project-based learning. I give my students a situation at the end of the unit and they need to take all of the information I have given them throughout to help them solve it. In my opinion, I think this helps me to better see what are the main components that have stuck with my students. I do get many different solutions to some of the problems I give my students, which some I did not even think of. I think this allows the students to get creative and innovative with their problem-solving abilities. I also think that by giving my students project-based assignments, it allows them to have more freedoms to choose their topics and solutions, which in turn allows that innovative and creative mind to come into play.

A lot of my activities throughout my lessons, revolve around hands-on learning. I try to create a lab per unit, so students can have a day where I am not interfering, and they can play with concepts on their own. One of the labs that I love to do with my Algebra students is the Candy Launcher Lab. I use this lab for the Quadratic Functions unit. Students calculate the maximum height of the candy and an object of their choice by the distance and time the items traveled. Student enjoy this because they get to launch things across the room, which on a normal day would not be allowed. I also have activities for my Geometry students where they also launch items across the room, but they do this to calculate angle measures. My Geometry students also used things like chalk lines that would not otherwise be used in the classroom, so construct parallel lines with transversals and other shapes. For AP Statistics, I allow my students to collect their own data, create their own surveys, and construct their own games throughout the year. This helps them to better understand probabilities and different types of statistics that we read about, which are not always truthful.

This year I am teaching AP Statistics, Geometry, and Sets, which there is not much overlap. I see that there are many gaps within each class, especially when it comes to algebraic concepts. A lot of times, students in all three classes struggle to do basic mathematics without using a calculator. I also noticed that many students do not know how to effectively use the TI calculators, excel, and many other mathematical platforms. My goal this year is to implement these technologies more in the classroom. Excel is a wonderful technology that many employers still use today. Being able to know the functions of Excel can definitely help students outside of the classroom, however there is not a real place for it in the curriculum. I am working with my Statistics students to use a mix of the TI calculator and Excel to enhance their understanding of the data and how to create different graphical representations.

My school does try to put more of an emphasis on literacy. Though this is a schoolwide goal, there is not a lot of buy-in amongst teachers due to the large gaps that we have in literacy. I believe that I can implement more literacy in my classroom by having my Statistics students analyze data and differentiate between bias and nonbiased studies. For Geometry, I can allow students to see what careers use these concepts and how they can relate better to it. For Sets, I can give readings that are more relative to their lives and how things like linear functions are out there when we look at statistics with different sports players.

My View on STEM Education

Pre-reading

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. These academic subjects are taught in the education system. There is more of an emphasis and a push now for students to learn about subjects in these four disciplines. Science may include classes such as biology and chemistry. Technology may include computer science. Engineering may include robotics. Mathematics may include algebra and geometry. STEM disciplines push students to question and make observations more so now than before in these areas.

I think that STEM education is important because there are many fields out there that are underrepresented with the amount of STEM disciplinary concepts they contain. There are many fields that deal with computer or mathematical operations like programming and even finance. There is a lack of women in these fields and it is important to increase them in these workforces. Because things in our world are constantly changing these fields are becoming more and more important to help find ways to better support the growing population and in discovering more environments outside this world. Without STEM, the emphasis on the growth in these industries would not be a prevalent.

STEM needs to be emphasized in the public education system. Due to a lack of females in this fields, there is a need to have new fresh minds in those roles to help discover new and more effective possibilities for people. STEM is what helps human beings advance as a civilization and do things more efficiently. Without improvements in medicine and technology, we would still be living in primitive times.

Post Reading

After further research, that there is a lack of diversity in the workforce (Bidwell, 2015). Women and minorities are very under represented. In the US, “we do not encourage out female students to pursue career paths in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (Purcell, 2013). In addition, the current workforce is growing older and this may stunt the growth of new ideas and innovations to take place. I can see this being an issue because recently I had my boss ask me to set up his email on his phone because he did not know how; he is in his sixties. There are other times that I am asked to do something or check something out on social media, and I have to ask one of my students how to find it, where is it, or can you show me what they are talking about? I have noticed also that nowadays a lot of my students are very savvy with their cell phones and cannot seem to get it from in front of their face. The upside I see to this is any question that I may have about social media, they can easily tell me. The new generation is become more reliant on technology and social media and that is something that the current workforce lacks.

With this current generation being more immersed in their cell phones, this is something that does not always have to be seen as a negative in the classroom and can be used to help increase their understanding in a STEM curriculum. In the article Student Solutions to Global Problems: STEM Education in South Carolina, students using their cells phones had been highlighted as something that the teacher can take advantage of as a resource to help support student learning. Technology can allow the students to find resources to help them and they can use it to interact with others and can allow them to get creative like the students in the article that created a 3D Braille Printer and an app for measuring carbon sequestration.

Though I thought I knew a lot about STEM, there was still much I did not know. After reading some articles, it seemed that there was problem with the amount of lack of interest and the growing “age” of the current workforce in STEM careers. This will possible halt our pace in creating advancements and when new technology can be available. If us as teachers start by promoting and building interest from the school years, then there may be more input, continuing advancements. “As repetitive tasks are eroded by technology and outsourcing, the ability to solve novel problems has become increasingly vital” (Deangelis, 2018). STEM subjects teach life skills that other subjects outside of STEM may not address making them also very important to emphasis as our students go up the ladder in the public education system.

References

Bidwell, A. (2015). STEM Workforce No More Diverse Than 14 Years Ago. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2015/02/24/stem-workforce-no-more-diverse-than-14-years-ago

Purcell, K. D. (2013, March 8). 5 Ways to Get Girls into STEM. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-ways-girls-involved-STEM-karen-purcell

Mason, R. (2017). Student Solutions to Global Problems: STEM Education in South Carolina. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/student-solutions-to-glob_b_8591808?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlYmluZGVycy5jb20vcGxheS9wbGF5P2lkPTE4ODM2MTQ&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAF9cU29FAzVjU05rzvzqgfh_Z-i_NGw_JXPFAlV0vUNnp87NuJHoEIsNDBE2wNGHUnAEgLsIoEFJEXm6h6D5neIjB9qWHLhChVE6G3rrGl9XIF2V0htxd5vfI4JVnbs_Rh4IcaTwwt23moDGIUHbNTOETjjDscenxLDfzxN__KO5

Stephen F. DeAngelis, E. S. (2015). Why STEM? Success Starts With Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving Skills. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/06/stem-success-starts-critical-thinking-problem-solving-skills/