I've been spending quite a bit of time on Twitter in the past week or so and have been reading about the importance of the practice of reflection for improving teaching practices and student learning. I am very surprised to find that this is not a common practice amongst teachers. I have been reflecting on my teaching for years and for the past three years, those reflections have been public on my Facebook page. This year I decided I would post my reflection on my blog, so here it goes..........
I began the year with a story that I tell every year. It is my own math story. I was a great math student in school. I was in the GATE (Gifted and Talented) Class where we were taught advanced everything. Math came very naturally to me and I didn't have "math phobia," so when I went to high school, I expected that everything would be the same. Well, did I have a surprise waiting for me.
I walked into my Freshman Algebra class and the teacher began. He wrote a bunch of gibberish on the chalkboard and turned around and said to the class, "So, that is how you do the problem. Are there any questions?" Of course there were questions. He never explained a single concept. He never taught any vocabulary. He never told us why we were learning this stuff or how it was relevant to our lives. A few students, including myself, asked the questions everyone was afraid to ask. He turned around, pointed at the board and repeated EXACTLY the same thing he had been saying as he wrote all that stuff on the board the first time. Then he assigned the homework and sat down at the desk in the front of the classroom. The next day we came to class and we started by correcting the homework. This meant you might be called to the chalkboard to work the problem for the class. I prayed that he wouldn't call on me because I had NO idea what was going on in this math class and this process went on day after day after day. I took quizzes and tests and I failed. My homework scores were dismal. For the first time ever in my life, I was a failure! I knew my parents would kill me if I got an F in this class and I was sure my father would disown me, since he was an engineer and math came so easy to him. Then towards the end of the semester, I was called to the teacher's desk at the front of the room. He said to me, "You know you are failing my class. I will give you a C in this class if you promise to never take another math class again." Knowing that my parents would kill me for the F, I made the promise and I never took another math class in high school again and I got the C. Back in those days, you only needed a semester of math to graduate and I had it. I knew that I would have to take math again at some point, but my misery and stupidity was over and I was grateful. My experience in math taught me that I was an idiot, that something had happened to my mind between 8th and 9th grade and I couldn't do or understand math. A teacher's words had changed my mindset, my life and not in a positive way.
Then came college -- "You are going to have to take all these math courses," my academic advisor said to me. I started to panic, but I knew I was going to have to get through it and this was my mindset. I had to take these class and that meant that my GPA would suck and I would be lucky to get a C, and so on. The negative self-talk was relentless. The semester started and I walked into my algebra class and sat down in the front. Dr. Thomas walked into the room and introduced herself. She handed out the syllabus and talked about math; doing the math, the importance of notes, homework, class work, asking questions and then she started teaching the first lesson. I will never forget this moment in this class. I don't remember exactly what she was teaching, but I understood every word she was saying. It made perfect sense to me and I thought, "This is so easy. I don't understand why I didn't get this before!" I got an A in that math class and every other math class I took in college (except my 6 week Trigonometry class that I got a B+) and math was easy. I wasn't afraid of math anymore and I knew I could do it. So, what did I learn? I learned that it never really was me. I wasn't an idiot. I was never "bad" at math. I had an unprofessional, ineffective math teacher in my very first math class in high school and it changed my mindset about me. I learned that the words a teacher uses with a student and in the classroom can have long term effects on the student's self esteem and confidence.
I end that story by telling my students that it is my job to make sure they understand math; that they need to ask questions, that they can come and talk with my about math at recess or lunch or after school. I promise them that I can answer their question in 10 minutes. Most importantly, I hope they will actually come to like and enjoy math.
That story changes mindsets. It changes the mindset of my students because my mindset is different. I teach differently because of my personal experiences. I send positive messages about math, especially to girls and my underrepresented students. I make math relevant to their lives; how will they use all this "stuff" I am teaching. I tell stories in class. They problem solve. They work in small groups. They work in pairs. They are peer experts. There is technology used in the classroom. They talk about math in math class and outside of math class.
On the last day of math class, I asked each of my students to write me a note anonymously about their experience in math this year; the good, the bad and the ugly. I wanted their honest opinions about the class. What would they change? What would they keep the same? What would they add? I had a few notes that told me they still didn't like math and that I was a tough teacher and expected too much of them. Trust me, I know who authored those notes, but for the most part, I got what I had hoped for....
"You have changed my mind about math."
"You explained math so clearly. I really understood what I was learning."
"You are the best math teacher ever."
"I looked forward to math class everyday."
"At first, I really didn't like the note taking, but it really did help me with homework."
And I got suggestions...
"Try and incorporate more projects in math. I really liked the ones we did and we need more."
"Use Khan Academy more in the classroom" and an equal number of "You know everyone hates Khan, so just get rid of it."
As I look back on the year, this is what I am thinking about --
I felt pressure to get through all the math curriculum by April 17th for the junior high math placement test and STAR Testing and I did it, but......
Did my push through the curriculum payoff for my students? Did I increase their math knowledge?
I know what my formative and summative assessments tell me and the answer to those questions are yes, but could I have slowed down to add more projects? What concept or concepts could I have spent less time teaching? Why are we giving a math placement test in April, when there is so much material to cover? How will common core math standards change all of this?
I will continue to think about these questions through the summer, and I will answer them one by one. It was a great year of teaching. I got to teach a subject that I am passionate about and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so. My teaching partners, Amy and Vanessa, entrusted me with their students in a subject that is tested to demonstrate student learning and school/teacher accountability. This was a big risk for all of us. Thank you for your trust and confidence in me. It has been such an honor to work with both of you. This "dream team" as we have been called, is going our separate ways. Good luck to both of you on your new career paths. As for me, I have a new job next year. I am the new STEM teacher at my school where I get to share my passion for math and science with all the students K-6. There's going to be a bunch of scientist and mathematicians running around my campus now because their teacher loves teaching math and science and let's be real --- math and science are so cool!
