My Driving question "How can I create a positive math mindset learning environment for my students? " has developed some sub questions that relate directly to this blog prompt this week. I am very interested in how countries like Finland and South Korea are teaching their students math since they are experiencing such high test score and student passing rates. "The Flat World and Education", by Linda Darling-Hammond has really provided some very interesting comparisons to these countries as well as other states in our country. She has compared them to the education system in California and it has really made me think; I entered teaching around the time mentioned in many of the studies and my own daughters have experienced class size reductions and then returning to larger class sizes. When you hear it all laid out I can't help but wonder if what was best for our students was ever really considered. I very clearly remember "No Child Left Behind" and the lack of care and support that brought to our education system. Ideas may have good intentions but the execution of many educational policies really lack the support our children need.
My reading of Linda Darling -Hammond has talked about the successes of states like North Carolina and Connecticut and the what I have noticed is that they invest in quality teacher training and professional development, the pay teachers a higher wage, and they improve supplies and schools where the teaching happens. That is a serious mindset shift which right there says to the children we care about your educations. Next the work to provide what the students need to be successful from quality preschool to health care and after school programs. The same seems to be true in Finland and and South Korea they are investing in their teachers which is having a profound impact on students success. It is making me more and more aware of how much of our own time and effort we as teachers put out to grow professionally. Also it can be frustrating to even be compensated for it. I have not been great at paying attention to all the PD I have done and making sure I applied it to the pay scale, I was also raising my own daughters which is the most rewarding part of my life hands down. Now it is a priority as a ponder a possible retirement date in 8 or so years. I have been working very hard to rack up the credits and I was just recently told I can only move one range a year even though I will have enough credits to move all the way over. I am sure there are some reasons for this that I do not care to understand since I am working hard and growing my skills which I can directly see is helping my students. There is a need for an education revolution and I AM EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THIS ! I feel like I want to take a field trip to visit some of these places doing this work and continue to work to create change here I am very grateful for this experience I am having with my Touro Masters program and learning from all of you
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I have the desire to continue to grow my skills so that I may present my students with relevant learning experiences that will take them far in their life. The 4 C's are just very relevant to all workplaces today. The ability to collaborate, communicate, critically think, and think creatively is so important in our modern work force. As educator we are charged with creating this experience for our students while still addressing the standards. It is total possible and often much more enriching for ourselves and our students when we create meaningful opportunities for them to learn using the 4 C's. Just this week in my math class we did a week long project on a "Border Problem" from Jo Boaler it was amazing the students were asked to draw what they saw , work in groups to see if they could write a rule for how they figure out how many tiles were around the border, and then see if another group could solve the problem using the rules they wrote. The students were talking about math, collaborating , and being creative math thinkers. At the end of the week they all came up with an equation, understood where the equation came from, and that it would work for all border problems, they also understood X can represent many different things. At the end when they reflected on their learning they all said they were surprised how drawing it out helped them visualize what was happening and that math was creative. They also really valued their group members and the conversations that were happening. This lesson was on poster paper with makers but the environment they were learning in was very 21st century and maybe I will add technology next time. For me though those skills of being creative , critically thinking, collaborating, and communication were all there. I do want to do more to bring more technology into the class. I was thinking about this Masters Class and the things we do to log our homework, access our assignments, sharing our thoughts and I realize these would be great things to incorporate . I personally get super confused with our spread sheet but would like to learn more about how to use it, this could be a great way for students to track their progress. Blogging is also a great way to share knowledge, collaborate, get know each other in deeper ways. Video lessons could also be very beneficial. I am really understanding as I myself have branched out to learn knew skill what our students are up against and these skills are equally as important as the standards for their future.
When Sir Ken Robinson talked about the climate crisis and that there is another serious crisis I was so connected and so drawn into everything he had to say. It also made me realize that is the feeling I have been having for a few years now. I have been teaching a long time and I have really felt like I wasn't reaching the kids in the same way, not really making as much of a difference as I felt I was in the past. I signed up for a classroom management workshop a few weeks ago and as I was talking to the presenter about why I signed up for it; at first felt a bit awkward I mean was she thinking" She has been teaching long enough to have this figured out" then I took a deep breath and I said that the kids are changing and I need to evolve with them. But it is so true education is not the same as it was when I first started teaching and the kids come with so many different experiences and "Talents" . Mr Robinson's conversation about ADHD was crazy on point the cartoon drawing made a light bulb go off for me. These kids have so much stimulation, so many tasks to juggle, so many more worries then I did growing up. Then they come to class and we want them to sit "Focus" on one task and to be excited and learn. Well when I go to workshops and just sit I am reminded how painful it is and how hard it is to focus. When he showed the map of where there were so many cases of ADHD reported I thought about our Flat World reading. Many of those areas were the areas she mentioned having poor school conditions, lacked qualifies teachers, lacked resources, unequal treatment, and then we are wondering why the kids can't focus.
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Julie LovieJulie Lovie Is a Math and Science teacher at Valley Oak High School with 25 years experience in teaching at a continuation high school. Julie Also teaches at Napa valley Adult School in the High School Diploma Program. She is passionate about the environment, loves gardening, and learning. Archives
June 2019
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