The Next Five Years
Personal Reflection
A few months ago, I was asked to create instrumental and missional goals. As a math teacher, my goal has always been to engage my students and make math learning relevant. I have never expected my students to mindlessly memorize formulas and equations but rather to be able to apply their thinking and skills to solve problems. STEM encourages students to look deeply into and wonder about the world around them. To engage students in meaningful learning, STEM is a way to make math come alive. I still stand by what I said several months ago, that it is my mission to demonstrate that STEM lessons can not only support math standards but also enhance overall math learning by making instruction relevant to the real world and engaging for all learners. Moving forward, it is still my goal to support teachers to create interdisciplinary, cohesive STEM units in their own classrooms. With math as the foundation, teachers could realign science units to support and enhance the math curriculum while incorporating technology, engineering and art.
As a Golden Apple Scholar and a National Board Certified Teacher, I have been surrounded by amazing and inspiring teachers of all backgrounds and skills. Since I was a teenager, I have been able to work with and develop ideas through my Golden Apple network. Many of my fellow scholars have moved on from teaching to take leadership roles in education, government and at universities. We have always been there to support, inspire and challenge each other.
In addition to my colleagues from Golden Apple, masters programs and fellow teachers, I have begun to network with others in science, computer and engineering fields. I have developed networks with engineers at BP and Nicor, and learned about developing computer technology from a friend who runs a software consulting company. I am looking to them for guidance, especially with technology. Determining what skills will best serve to inspire my students to pursue careers in these fields is a main focus of my PLN. I am amazed at the levels of creativity in each field. Growing up, I thought science and math fields were boring but they are truly new frontiers being created on a daily basis. A year ago I would have never thought that a middle school teacher and an engineer could have learned and benefitted much from each other. As I have taken the time to have these conversations, I have begun to reshape my idea of modern mathematics instruction and how to redevelop my ideas of teaching and learning in middle school.
As I redevelop my thoughts on mathematics instruction, I am developing the courage to place more responsibility on my students by giving them the proper skills and tools as well as sufficient time to explore and create. During my ImagineIT project, students were asked to chart their own course of study. I had never seen them so engaged! They challenged themselves, took each other to task and learned more complex concepts than I could have imagined. This required me the carefully develop the process and learn the necessary technology so that my students could harness their ideas and demonstrate their learning. I am beginning to abandon some levels of control in exchange for creativity and inspiration. I have found that it is much more successful when I let it grow naturally from my students rather than trying to artificially plant the seed.
Personal Reflection
A few months ago, I was asked to create instrumental and missional goals. As a math teacher, my goal has always been to engage my students and make math learning relevant. I have never expected my students to mindlessly memorize formulas and equations but rather to be able to apply their thinking and skills to solve problems. STEM encourages students to look deeply into and wonder about the world around them. To engage students in meaningful learning, STEM is a way to make math come alive. I still stand by what I said several months ago, that it is my mission to demonstrate that STEM lessons can not only support math standards but also enhance overall math learning by making instruction relevant to the real world and engaging for all learners. Moving forward, it is still my goal to support teachers to create interdisciplinary, cohesive STEM units in their own classrooms. With math as the foundation, teachers could realign science units to support and enhance the math curriculum while incorporating technology, engineering and art.
As a Golden Apple Scholar and a National Board Certified Teacher, I have been surrounded by amazing and inspiring teachers of all backgrounds and skills. Since I was a teenager, I have been able to work with and develop ideas through my Golden Apple network. Many of my fellow scholars have moved on from teaching to take leadership roles in education, government and at universities. We have always been there to support, inspire and challenge each other.
In addition to my colleagues from Golden Apple, masters programs and fellow teachers, I have begun to network with others in science, computer and engineering fields. I have developed networks with engineers at BP and Nicor, and learned about developing computer technology from a friend who runs a software consulting company. I am looking to them for guidance, especially with technology. Determining what skills will best serve to inspire my students to pursue careers in these fields is a main focus of my PLN. I am amazed at the levels of creativity in each field. Growing up, I thought science and math fields were boring but they are truly new frontiers being created on a daily basis. A year ago I would have never thought that a middle school teacher and an engineer could have learned and benefitted much from each other. As I have taken the time to have these conversations, I have begun to reshape my idea of modern mathematics instruction and how to redevelop my ideas of teaching and learning in middle school.
As I redevelop my thoughts on mathematics instruction, I am developing the courage to place more responsibility on my students by giving them the proper skills and tools as well as sufficient time to explore and create. During my ImagineIT project, students were asked to chart their own course of study. I had never seen them so engaged! They challenged themselves, took each other to task and learned more complex concepts than I could have imagined. This required me the carefully develop the process and learn the necessary technology so that my students could harness their ideas and demonstrate their learning. I am beginning to abandon some levels of control in exchange for creativity and inspiration. I have found that it is much more successful when I let it grow naturally from my students rather than trying to artificially plant the seed.
Curated Resources
