I am: compassionate, motivated, idealistic, creative, loving, reflective...
I like: working with others, empowering my students, letting my students do the "heavy lifting", designing lessons, having fun, using color and hands on materials...
I am not: all knowing, close minded...
I believe: education can help students overcome their circumstances, all students can learn, it is fun to learn, happiness should never be divorced from learning, we are all natural born learners, science is a lens through which to see the world...
I want to provide for my students the same type of education and learning opportunities that I would want my own children to have.
My favorite science class in high school was physics. After that year I LOVED physics. I loved it so much that I will never forget how disappointed I was when I walked into my college physics class and discovered that not all physics courses (or teachers as I would quickly learn) were created equal. My high school physics teacher had made that class fun. It is undeniable that teachers have enormous influence over their student's opinion of their particular subject matter and my best science class in high school was all because I had a rockstar physics teacher. As I try to remember what it was about Mr. Allard that made his class so great, I can't recall what his teaching methods were, I just remember how I felt in his class and about physics. I felt like I was good at physics and I remember being proud of my successes in that class, more so than in other classes because I felt like I actually learned something. For example, I felt like I might even have understood the formulas I learned in that class, enough to manipulate them and solve complicated word problems. I liked the challenge that came along with the puzzles of physics. My other science classes did not stand out in the same way because none of the material ever really "sank in" and as I think back about it now, maybe I wasn't really given the same opportunities to figure things out, like I was given in Mr. Allard's class. I easily maintained a B average in all my science classes, however the reason I was able to do well in my other science classes is because I was good at playing the game of school. I was one of those kids that knew exactly what I had to do to get the grade, and ashamedly this was not a reflection of what was ever seriously learned in school, rather what I'd committed to short term memory the night before my tests.
I want my students to value true learning. I want my students to be obsessed with finding the answers and always asking questions like "how" or "why" and trying to figure things out for themselves. I want my students be artists, constantly creating and developing solutions to the questions in their minds; all science starts with a question. I want them to learn how to solve problems in science so that they can tackle problems that arise in other areas of their lives. I want to teach in a way that empowers my students and gives them hope for their futures and confidence in themselves. I want my lessons to be so awesome that I have no behavior problems during class. I want each of my students to see everything they have to offer to this world.
I'm hoping this class helps me to become a rockstar science teacher.
I enjoy thinking about your goal of being a rockstar science teacher.. Mr. Allard sounds awesome! One "takeaway" from your story is the impact one really good teacher can have on students, even serving as a counterbalance to other not-so-good teachers. Interesting that you recognized when you actually learned and when you did not. Your ideas about what you want for your students shows that you are already working on translating that recognition of "learning" in yourself into goals for your students' learning. Now, the challenge is: how? what do you do? Thus begins the journey..
ReplyDeleteHow true, not all classrooms are created equal even though its the same material.
ReplyDeleteI agree we need to teach students problem solving not only for science but for life. So many times we have stopped and heard things people do and say and wonder what happened.
Elizabeth, I am so there with you. To have students excited to come to class, walking through the door almost tripping over themselves trying to figure out the next adventure we are going to tackle. I think because we are teachers and wanted to be such, learning was never our issue and it is hard, almost unfathomable to have found out once we became teachers that not every student likes learning and our obstacle is to get all our students to like learning. This advantage to science is the immense hands-on opportunities to get students out of the everyday "sit and read" or "sit and write" approach.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteHow do you pronounce your last name? If it is the way I think it is (Wise-Heart), then your last name not only describes you, but it exemplifies my way of thinking as well. You are wise in the way you want your students to learn and you want to put your heart into everything you do.
Physics was never my forte. Get me past the actual "figuring it out" part and the rest of the math I could do, no problem. I never took the course in high school, but I had to in college to get my degree. The professor I had was from somewhere outside of the country (Mazilu was his last name) and I absolutely LOVED him. As much of a hassle as it was to teach me physics, he stuck by my side. That truly had an impact on me (and my grade :D). I cannot say it was much fun in class, but you're right; solving the puzzle is part of what kept me interested.
I really like the first part of your blog. It made me think how I wish we could just teach. Have an experiment everyday for the students to figure out and quit worrying about data, data, DATA! Stop aligning our instruction with a test, be able to teach the students fundamentals of science, then let them go and watch the students develop their own inquiry on their own, interesting topics. I, too, want my students to value true learning. Hopefully, through this program, we can figure out numerous ways to provide our goals to our students.