As an educator, I plan to instruct my students using culturally responsive teaching and dialogic learning in order to have the most effective learning environment possible. Since forming teacher-student relationships are pivotal to student success, I also plan to establish such positive relationships with my own students. Having my students know that I care about them and their education is the start to establishing a positive classroom atmosphere. Using these strategies will begin to create a learning environment that promotes an open, caring space in which all students feel encouraged to participate.
My instruction in the positive learning environment will include the use of inquiry, differentiation, scaffolding, cooperative learning, as well as the Standards for Mathematical Practice. Every student does not learn the same information, in the same way, or at the same time and thus lesson plans should reflect this diverse reality. As Stiller (2011) mentioned, cooperative learning can be very essential to the success of students as it “reaches out to all, while lecturing reaches out only to students who are self-motivated, well-behaved, disciplined, auditory learners” (p. 87). Therefore, lessons should also be engaging and relative to the real world by providing examples connected to student’s life outside of the classroom. For example, solving a system of equations does not relate to the life of a student unless related to the initial fee and additional hourly rate of hiring two different companies such as a plumber or moving services.
I believe that mathematics education is my passion, due to the enormous potential impact on students. Mathematics has formed a negative connotation with students, which in turn causes low self-efficacy that needs to be addressed. Many students feel that they are not able to “do math,” and I look forward to being able to show my students the contrary. One of the main obstacles that mathematics educators must overcome is the lack of confidence in their students’ ability to be successful in mathematics. All students are able to “do math,” and in order for them to believe it as well, they must see the usefulness of the subject and be in a positive environment full of encouragement, motivation, and nurturing. As Wlodkowski and Ginsberg (1995) stated, “we must work with students to interpret and deepen their existing knowledge and enthusiasm for learning. From this viewpoint, motivationally effective teaching is culturally responsive teaching” (p. 2). I look forward to beginning to break down this mathematical negativity in my classroom, through the use of culturally responsive and motivationally effective teaching. I also hope to foster a love of the subject in my students as well, by demonstrating its usefulness to their everyday lives and providing exciting, engaging lessons in which they can look forward to participate.
I believe that my effectiveness in my objectives as a teacher will be evident through measuring the improvement of each student throughout their time in my classroom. Although the importance of high scores on quizzes, tests, and standardized exams is important, I see the individual gains a student achieves as more indicative of my success as a mathematics educator. An unsatisfactory standardized test score at the end of the school year often does not reveal that the student improved their score thirty points from all of the years before, demonstrating immense individual improvement. Instead of comparing my students to each other, I plan to compare each of my student’s to themselves. Each student has an area in which to improve upon, and through implementing the mentioned instructional strategies, I look forward to helping them all reach their full potential.
References
Stiller, S. (2011). Hooking students so they don’t give up. In C.E. Sleeter & C. Cornbleth, Teaching with vision: Culturally responsive teaching in standards-based classrooms, Ch. 7, 82-99. Teachers College Press: NY.
Wlodkowski, R.J. & Ginsberg, M.B. (1995). A framework for culturally responsive teaching. Strengthening Student Engagement, 53(1), 17-21.