Why Online?

I have just completed my fifth on-line class in the M.Ed. in Mathematics Education at Lesley and am beginning my sixth course. I will complete this program in two years, taking one class at a time. I have been asked by my colleagues at work how I feel about being in an on-line program. Since I am half-way through my coursework, I am in a position to speak about some of the benefits that I have found from being in the program at Lesley. Every class that I have taken has aligned to what I teach as a middle school math teacher. Each professor has been excellent, not only because they are knowledgeable about the content, but because they also have experience in the classroom. They are passionate about their areas of expertise and go above and beyond to help everyone in the class grow as a teacher of mathematics. It is hard to explain how one makes a connection with on-line classmates so quickly. It happens because we are afforded so many opportunities to interact. We share mathematical solutions, teaching strategies, and work on group projects. We give one another links for teaching resources, trade lessons and discuss our successes and challenges. Most importantly, my classmates provide support and help whenever I need it and I am grateful when I am able to do the same for them. With the start of each class, I am excited to “see” familiar faces and find that I quickly make connections with classmates I am meeting for the first time. The online classroom allows me to experience diversity; my classmates come from all over the country, or I should say all over the globe. The on-line classroom experience is enriched because of our varied backgrounds. Collectively we teach in different places, use different curriculums, and teach at different grade levels. I picked this program initially because I live in a somewhat remote location and it would be a challenge to commute and attend class in person. I also liked the idea of being able to schedule the time when I would “attend class” and complete my coursework. I did not foresee all of the other advantages. I have grown in my understanding of mathematics and as a teacher of mathematics. I have been humbled as I continue to learn how much I have yet to learn!

New Perspective

My definition of equity has changed greatly from the beginning of this course until now. My initial thought was that equity in a classroom meant treating students fairly and providing everyone with an equal opportunity to learn. Making sure I call on the boys as much as I call on the girls, for example, is a big part of that. I thought that by pulling popsicle sticks with the student’s names on them I was fulfilling my duty of creating an equitable classroom. Equity also meant differentiating instruction so that all students are able to access the curriculum at a level manageable to them. While all of that still applies, my current definition of equity has expanded to include much more. My original thoughts were focused around the students; I was not factoring myself and other staff into the equation. Equity encompasses students, parents/guardians, teachers, as well as other support staff. Aside from the classroom core teachers, other teachers and staff may include special educators, ELL instructors, guidance counselors, speech and language pathologists, school psychologist, social worker, reading specialist, etc. It is each student’s job to set challenging, yet obtainable, goals that they’ll strive to either reach or beat on a daily basis. It is the parents/guardians job to keep up-to-date with what’s going on in the classroom and provide a supportive environment for student learning at home. Teachers need to continue to better themselves as educators by seeking out professional development, as well as any other opportunities that may come their way. Teachers and other support staff need to meet frequently so that everyone is “in tune” with what’s going on (or what’s not going on) with their students. All parties involved serve as a piece to the equity puzzle. When one or more pieces are missing, equity cannot be achieved. Everyone needs to be an active participant and fulfill their duties in order to create equity.

Science Talks

At the beginning of the equity course we were each asked to come up with our own equity question to investigate. Examples of some of our questions are:
- Do students participate more if the science lesson caters to their learning style?
- Which gender, boys or girls, are earning the higher report card grades in my seventh grade science classes?
- Who takes the leadership role during small group work, boys or girls?
- How do lower level students compare to the other students when it comes to participating in class and doing labs?
- Do girls or boys have the scientific knowledge and attitude needed when they enter a departmentalized 4th grade science classroom?

In addition to collecting classroom data, we’ve also been on the search for related articles to help support our findings. Information we find pertaining to our question often leads to pondering more questions. Cindy Ballenger mentions something similar in her article titled One View of “Does a Plant Grow Every Day?” The focus of the article is on “science talks,” which are whole class discussions based around questions that arise from the children. They are not questions that have a definite answer; rather they are speculative and lead children to “trying to imagine phenomena, to connect a variety of events or experiences, to theorize about why and how.” Throughout a science talk, students use their prior knowledge as they draw upon their ideas and engage in a meaningful conversation with their peers. As mentioned above, “any questions they answer usually lead to more questions.”

One of the features of a science talk that makes it such a success is that the teacher’s main role is to facilitate student turns. Some teachers are more involved than others, but generally the teacher is not the main participant. Other teachers may feel that by being more involved they can guide the students in the direction they want and can interject with questions as they please. Another important feature of a science talk is that “students talk to each other and in a manner that is more associated with social situations outside of school.” In their discussion about whether or not plants grow everyday, a student in Ballenger’s article (3rd or 4th grader) commented that “I think I can kinda’ see myself grow because one day I putted on my socks and they was too small for me so I can fit in my mom’s socks now.” She made a connection between a plant’s growth and her own growth. Personally, I would like to incorporate more science talks into my lessons next year. Students who are less likely to raise their hand may contribute something to the conversation they would otherwise be more hesitant to say. Ballenger mentioned that these children “often add significant depth to the learning taking place.”

What Happens Inside The Classroom Is Just As Important As What Happens Outside The Classroom

This past week in Sharon J. Lynch’s book, Equity and Science Education reform, we read about how a student’s family, peers and surrounding community all influence student learning. We arrived at the understanding that science equity goes beyond the day-to-day happenings within a classroom. Who students interact with outside of school is just as important as who students interact with inside of school. As educators, it is important for us to be as aware as possible of the life our students live outside of school. We are sometimes quick to judge a situation, but we need to remember to take a step back to understand where the child is coming from. Children are products of their environment. A child with a tougher home life may not be as “put together” as other children. Understanding each child is a big part of the foundation of creating a classroom environment that supports equity. The most important thing for us to do is show the students we care. My principal's motto is "kids don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." If our students know that we care about them, then they should look forward to coming to our class each day. Some students spend more time with their teacher(s), peers and other staff more than they do with their own families. The classroom may be where they receive the most guidance, support and structure. Whether or not a child in need decides to seek out his/her teacher for help in a time of need is unpredictable, which is why showing the students we care is so important.

On another note, here are some common questions (and my answers) asked by those interested in the Science in Education online experience…

Do you feel as though you could have done the work you have had in your classes without being a classroom teacher or would it have been difficult?

Certainly, it does help to have your own classroom while completing the online courses, but it is definitely doable without one. Do you know of any elementary or middle school aged children to work with if you don’t have your own classroom? A relative? Family friend? The work done in the classroom setting can easily be done with students around the same age in a different setting. Working with students does not take place each week. It ususally happens toward the end of the course. You use what you've learned and then apply it to working with children.

Have you found that you have fostered relationships with people in your classes, without having met them, easily?

YES! During the first course I took (Try Science) I exchanged numbers with a few of the girls in my group to talk about an assignment. As it turns out, we all don't live that far away from each other so over the Christmas break we all met for lunch. It was so nice to put a face with a name! It's been great... we call each other often when we have questions, comments, concerns... I love it! We all began at the same time and have signed up for the same courses since.

What is Equity?

During the first week of the equitable classrooms course, we were each asked to come up with our own idea of what equity is. The responses were varied, but what seemed to stay consistent is that equity is a much broader topic than we all anticipated. When I first thought about what equity is the first thing that came to my mind was fairness. Within a classroom fairness relates to following through with consequences, providing each student with the same opportunities, grading student work using a consistent scale and devoting time to check in with each individual student. Certainly, those are all components of what equity is, but it goes beyond that. Chapter eight of Sharon J. Lynch’s book, Equity and Science Education Reform, highlights what is expected of the teacher in order for an equitable classroom to be established. Lynch emphasizes the importance of a teacher having “a sound understanding of the nature of science, science concepts, science themes, habits of mind, and process skills, especially as the grade levels of the students increase.” With these understandings, teachers are better able to engage students in “doing and talking” science. Lynch then goes on to mention how important it is for teachers to continue to better themselves as educators through professional development. The best way is for teachers to collaborate as they “take time to think about standards, to contextualize them in terms of their practice in their schools, and to have examples of effective curricula aligned with the standards.” Of course Lynch recognizes that ongoing professional development takes a substantial amount of time and costs money, which may not be that easy for some school districts to implement on a frequent basis. As teachers take advantage of opportunities where they can learn from others, they are learning strategies to better their own teaching styles/methods. This, in turn, is one step closer to creating an "equitable classroom" environment; something that all teachers should strive to achieve.

All Good things Come to an End

It is finally here, the end of my first graduate class online. It is bitter sweet like most endings of great adventures. I will miss the fun and creative projects that Steve had us working on, I will miss seeing the creativity of my fellow classmates, and I will miss the weekly chats with my classmates. Yes, there is a new adventure on the horizon, but like finishing a good book I just want to sit back and reflect on how much I enjoyed it. As I packed up my portfolio to send, my husband commented on the large pile of work. Funny, it did not seem like work. I look through the pile and smile at how much I learned and truly understand how to do. As was reiterated many times throughout our class, project-based learning is the way to own the information and to be able to use it later. When will our state and federal governments stop the insanity of testing so that we can get back to being great teachers and the students can actually learn something useful?
I learned so much through trial and error in this class. Yes, it was frustrating at times, but like anything you work hard at; the reward was great in the end. Students need to have that feeling of success. They need to see the product of their hard work in a physical form. Self-esteem and self worth is elevated when a visible result can be seen. Project-based teaching encompasses all types of learning styles and intelligence levels so that an individual's gifts and talents can be used and further developed. I have believed in this technique in teaching from the start of my career. I owned and operated a successful preschool for nineteen years that used a unit study approach(old term for project based) with great results over the years. Children learned and loved learning because it was fun. I home-schooled my two children through the elementary years so that education could be fun. Testing was not the focus in either of those teaching experiences. As a teacher, you know when your students understand the information. When students can show you what they learned and use what they learned, there is the proof that the teaching was successful.
A new adventure will be starting soon for me with another graduate class. I am looking forward to learning something new. I can only hope and pray that a new adventure begins in the public school system soon. So many great teachers are losing heart and drying up. So many students are not learning how to love learning. Students are losing that sense of adventure that can come with new information. There is nothing bitter sweet about that, just bitter.

Pulling It All Together

Our Earth Science knowledge was put to the test this week as each group focused on a different river than the Nile, either the Colorado or Amazon, and had to answer certain questions. The questions covered a variety of topics, such as where the river flows, watershed boundaries, discharge, precipitation and changes in seasonal patterns surrounding the river. Each group member was responsible for responding to a different question. My question pertained to discharge in the Colorado River and its tributaries. Prior to taking this course, I would not have known where to begin to answer this question. My studies of the Nile River have provided me with a solid foundation of how river systems work as a whole. In the upcoming week our assignment is to create a story about how the interacting components of the river we are investigating work together. I am looking forward to seeing how everything comes together.

On the curriculum front, we have been putting the final touches on our TfU (teach for understanding) plans and have started implementing them within our classrooms. More specifically, we have been focusing on performances of understanding, which are designed to help students develop and demonstrate their understanding. Within our generative topic, we were challenged to devise a variety of performances that show student understanding in an observable way. It is stressed in Tina Blythe’s Teach for Understanding book that they are learning activities and not final events. Each assessment is placed into one of the following categories; introductory, guided or culminating. Introductory performances are at the beginning of a unit and invite students to begin “messing about” with the issue/topic. Guided inquiry assessments are in the middle of a unit and focus students on particular problems related to the generative topic and understanding goals. Culminating performances are at the end of a unit and require students to pull together their understandings developed in previous performances.

We, as teachers, then ask ourselves; how do we know what our students are learning? On-going assessment is the answer! They are crucial and can be done in a variety of ways. The key word is on-going. They may be formal, informal, teacher lead or student lead. Students may even critique/reflect on their own work. Teachers informally assess their students frequently, but are not always consciously aware they are even doing it. For example, floating around the room and checking in with the students as they participate in a lab is an informal way to assess how the students are progressing. We sometimes get caught up in grades and forget that there are other means of assessing how our students are doing.