Professional knowledge and growth are key pieces of a successful teacher’s repertoire and throughout my MAT year I have cultivated a sense of the two key components of this professionalism: an appropriate disposition and a reflective approach to my teaching practice. In all of my placements, I have familiarized myself with the school’s routines and maintained the energy, enthusiasm, and patience to teach students throughout a full day and during any other additional activities I might participate in after school. I was especially fortunate this year to be able to participate in after-school activities like daily bus duty and the school talent show auditions. In any given situation, I know that I can rely upon my understanding of school policies, contracted codes of ethics, classroom standards, and all state or federal regulations to help me successfully navigate an appropriate response. As I continue to develop my teaching practice, I know that I can build upon my work by asking for and accepting purposeful feedback from others. I have worked with three terrific mentor teachers who have given me endless support, patience, and helpful feedback that I have applied to improve my practice. I have also participated in a variety of professional development opportunities to further develop my understanding of new technology and diverse perspectives in my classroom. Finally, I have reflected on my work each and every day to recall what went well and what I can build upon or improve in any given lesson that I teach.
My initial understanding of myself as an educator came to a head this summer when I was designed a final math project for my rising first grade students. The students were creating “robots” using paper cutouts of pattern blocks. My co-teacher and I came up with a list of requirements that the robots would have to have in order for us to see that our students understood the content and skills from our earlier math lessons. My next task was to find a way to communicate these requirements to our students, most of whom had just finished kindergarten and were beginning readers. After discussing a video of my teaching with some of my peers in a Critical Friends Group (CFG), I received some great feedback on how I could make my teacher presentations more efficient and still convey important information to my students. For this particular project, an anchor chart with words and pictures seemed to be the perfect fit. My students knew what they needed to do, and the chart was readily available for them as they worked for additional support. The chart was also a wonderful support for my mini-lesson prior to the start of independent work time as it helped me to stay on-task and ensure that I explained all of the important parts of the lesson before releasing students to work on their projects.
In my fall placement, I also gathered some useful and exciting new ideas for my classroom practice from a Critical Friends Group in our Math Methods class. I chose to partner with Talia, who was also teaching fifth grade and had taught a lesson about volume that used some of the same key principles as my lesson on multiplication. We were able to talk about what worked for our two different groups of learners and offer suggestions to one another for future lessons. Through this discussion, we created a combined knowledge of teaching math to fifth graders, which is an important benefit of group work for students and teachers alike (Oakes & Lipton, 2013, p. 182). I left our discussion feeling like I had some new ideas for future lessons that built upon some of the things Talia and I had discussed, like using mini whiteboards for guided practice. Wiggins and McTighe (2006) suggest that CFGs like this can help us to internalize the elements of a well-designed lesson (Wiggins & McTighe, 2006, p. 27). I do feel that I internalized some of the guided practice suggestions that Talia and I discussed, and I have used some elements of our discussion in other lessons that I have planned.
To further support my professional growth, I attended the Blended and Personalized Learning Conference hosted by the Highlander Institute. At the conference, I hoped to gain a better understanding of some new teaching methods and some strategies for successfully incorporating technology into my classroom in an authentic way. The conference exceeded my expectations. Not only was I able to attend sessions on integrating blended learning, but I was also able to observe a blended classroom demonstration and meet educators from all over the state. I left the conference armed with many different resources for integrating blended learning into my daily teaching practice.
Throughout the entire MAT program, I made a goal to be less self-critical and more receptive to feedback from others, especially positive feedback. I was fortunate to have wonderful mentors and supervisors that supported me with honest and specific feedback that I could put into practice right away. I also reflected on my own work at least twice per semester using the Brown Practice Based Standards rubric as a self-assessment tool. My mentors filled this rubric out as well and we had several productive conferences to identify my strengths and areas of opportunity. I was also able to meet with my MAT cohort at least once per week (usually more than once) to debrief and share strategies and ideas. With this wonderful community around me, I have had a wide variety of resources available to support me in becoming the best teacher I can be.
As I continue to teach, I hope to keep finding ways to diversify my teaching practice, particularly by working with other educators and incorporating the perspective of my students. I have enjoyed several opportunities to participate in CFGs this semester and I am continually inspired and amazed by the body of educators in my MAT cohort and in all of my placements. I look forward to working with my colleagues in a similar fashion wherever my teaching journey may lead me. I am also eager to continue practicing responsive teaching in a variety of contexts. As Au (2009) notes, the way that we practice responsive teaching will vary depending upon the characteristics of the students in a given class (Au, 2009, p.181). As I get to know more students and more educators, I hope to add to my “mental toolbox” of ways to reach out to the students I will teach, and devise ways to innovate my teaching practice to better meet the needs of my unique group of learners. In particular, I am hoping that I can be more giving of myself with my students and make more genuine connections with them. I would love to show my students that I am also a learner and that I make mistakes too. A final important part of meeting this standard is being receptive to ideas and perspectives beyond your own understanding. With this perspective in mind, I am hopeful that together, my students and I can make our classroom a community of care and learning that respects and affirms each student’s background and learning styles.