REFLECTION
This MSU experience has been an eye opener for me in many respects. I was at the point that I
needed to re-energize myself and deeply think about engaging my students in meaningful
realistic ways, and delivering an instruction that would really stick to them. Every single reading
in this cohort was like a “Wow” for me, and I kept saying to myself; that’s what I need to
know, that’s what I need to do. They were so powerful that I felt overwhelmed, but they gave me
a sense of what I needed to change, improve, adapt and keep. For being a writer that wonders
about the beauty, and rhythmic sound of words and how they evocate meaning, I discovered that
I didn’t approach much about my world in a way of discovering or trying to think about how it
works. I am a philosophical/idealistic wonderer sometimes that forgets that I live in a world.
This experience was a wake up for me; a call that said hey, I am here and you need to see me.
Beginning with the world of wonder, I realized I had to find one. I went with open eyes to my
backyard and carefully looked for patterns. Plants, animals, humans, microbes, and how they are
connected and then develop an idea. That was a pleasant experience with nature and the
development of some understanding about the patterns that I found. There were many articles
that made an impact on me, but some more than others. Among them were Teaching for
Understanding, Teaching for Aesthetic Understanding, Teaching That Sticks, and Creative
Teaching.
In some ways my teaching was a method that helped my students organize their thinking in
clear steps, making it easier for them to process their math, because I thought that the simpler the
better for them. However, they did not understand with understanding. They were learning skills
given to them, but they had problems explaining and showing what they knew and how they got
the answer. To be clear on what I was doing before this course I will explain in a few words my
thoughts. In order to deliver my instruction in math, I used to design my math scope sequence
based on the relevance of the topics they need to know; I carefully scaffolded learning goals for
my students, so all the steps were included in the lesson; planned activities, classwork, videos,
and games conducive to meeting their goals. I was using manipulatives and visual aids to guide
them to look for solutions which appeal to their learning styles; I used cooperative learning and
peer buddy, but I didn’t quite encourage them to make connections between math and real life
experiences. Worried more about their skills in acquiring knowledge and making concepts very
clear for them, I didn’t give too much time to the idea of having my students spending their time
with activities that ask them to generalize and show understanding. Now, I see the importance of
covering fewer topics to give them time to explore, apply and work through their own thinking.
Realizing that there is never enough time to teach everything and that my students have a short
term memory that impedes their ability to remember factual knowledge, I have to focus more on
math topics that are interconnected within the same math topics or other areas; topics that are
accessible for them as well as help them make connections. Since “Developing the ability to
transfer one’s learning is key. It is an essential ability because teachers can only help students
learn a relatively small number of ideas, examples, facts and skills. So we need to help them
transfer their inherently limited learning to many other settings, issues and problems”. (Grant
Wiggins and Jay McTighen Chapter two Understanding Understanding).
Another idea I will take from this experience is the idea from Ark Girod’s dissertation about the
power of fostering pleasing experiences with the world for my students, and providing generative
ideas that help to explain its phenomena. I want to bring into the math class powerful and
meaningful learning that impacts my students in a way that they perceive their learning and their
world in different ways. One museum exhibition that explored that connection was “The
Numbers on Nature”, where the idea of the patterns found in nature could inspire students to
rethink their experiences with patterns, and the way they figure out these patterns when they see
only geometric figures. These are the kind of learning experiences that I want to facilitate in my
classroom.
Through reading, listening, experiencing and reflecting, I found a framework that will help me to
redesign my instruction. I am going step by step, but I am doing it. From the article “Teaching
that Sticks” by Chip Heath & Dan Heath, I will use some treats to infuse ideas that my students
will want to take and keep with them. I will start integrating simplicity (priority ideas, more time
for understanding), concreteness (towards using more real-world experiences and less
manipulatives), credibility (students testing their own ideas), and stories (students more engaged
by using their imagination) into my teaching. I have been inspired to take risks and create some
thoughtful lessons that conduce and develop understanding.
Finally, I agree partially that scripted instruction takes away from creativity, classroom
discussions and improvisation. However, learning results can derivate from a well structure mini-
lesson, and by giving space to the students to later to experiment with different ideas and
approaches and by letting them compare and contrast what they know. Like a musician who is
learning to play an instrument, at the beginning they need to learn how to maneuver their fingers
on the instrument, and put notes together to make a melody. From that point of view, there is no
contribution from the student and no feeling embedded into the song. However, as the student
gets confident playing the instrument using different notes, changing some tunes, and putting in
lyrics, the song becomes part of his/her, and a new way to deliver that song has been born. I am
more aware now of strategies that don’t really contribute to the educative enrichment of my
students. I know that I have used scripted teaching for most of my lessons, to make sure that my
grammar and vocabulary are appropriate to what they expect from me. I rehearse what I am
going to say, not because I don’t know, but because I don’t want to have mistakes pronouncing
everything correctly. Probably these ideas have limited the flow of my instruction. I am aware
that facilitating discussions, managing group improvisations, and allowing interactions between
students and the teacher promote exchange and development of new ideas. I definitely will use
some of the strategies learned from the improvisation class such as Machine, Free Tag, and Give
& Take to little by little feel more confident and let the advantages of improvisation responses
grow in the classroom.
needed to re-energize myself and deeply think about engaging my students in meaningful
realistic ways, and delivering an instruction that would really stick to them. Every single reading
in this cohort was like a “Wow” for me, and I kept saying to myself; that’s what I need to
know, that’s what I need to do. They were so powerful that I felt overwhelmed, but they gave me
a sense of what I needed to change, improve, adapt and keep. For being a writer that wonders
about the beauty, and rhythmic sound of words and how they evocate meaning, I discovered that
I didn’t approach much about my world in a way of discovering or trying to think about how it
works. I am a philosophical/idealistic wonderer sometimes that forgets that I live in a world.
This experience was a wake up for me; a call that said hey, I am here and you need to see me.
Beginning with the world of wonder, I realized I had to find one. I went with open eyes to my
backyard and carefully looked for patterns. Plants, animals, humans, microbes, and how they are
connected and then develop an idea. That was a pleasant experience with nature and the
development of some understanding about the patterns that I found. There were many articles
that made an impact on me, but some more than others. Among them were Teaching for
Understanding, Teaching for Aesthetic Understanding, Teaching That Sticks, and Creative
Teaching.
In some ways my teaching was a method that helped my students organize their thinking in
clear steps, making it easier for them to process their math, because I thought that the simpler the
better for them. However, they did not understand with understanding. They were learning skills
given to them, but they had problems explaining and showing what they knew and how they got
the answer. To be clear on what I was doing before this course I will explain in a few words my
thoughts. In order to deliver my instruction in math, I used to design my math scope sequence
based on the relevance of the topics they need to know; I carefully scaffolded learning goals for
my students, so all the steps were included in the lesson; planned activities, classwork, videos,
and games conducive to meeting their goals. I was using manipulatives and visual aids to guide
them to look for solutions which appeal to their learning styles; I used cooperative learning and
peer buddy, but I didn’t quite encourage them to make connections between math and real life
experiences. Worried more about their skills in acquiring knowledge and making concepts very
clear for them, I didn’t give too much time to the idea of having my students spending their time
with activities that ask them to generalize and show understanding. Now, I see the importance of
covering fewer topics to give them time to explore, apply and work through their own thinking.
Realizing that there is never enough time to teach everything and that my students have a short
term memory that impedes their ability to remember factual knowledge, I have to focus more on
math topics that are interconnected within the same math topics or other areas; topics that are
accessible for them as well as help them make connections. Since “Developing the ability to
transfer one’s learning is key. It is an essential ability because teachers can only help students
learn a relatively small number of ideas, examples, facts and skills. So we need to help them
transfer their inherently limited learning to many other settings, issues and problems”. (Grant
Wiggins and Jay McTighen Chapter two Understanding Understanding).
Another idea I will take from this experience is the idea from Ark Girod’s dissertation about the
power of fostering pleasing experiences with the world for my students, and providing generative
ideas that help to explain its phenomena. I want to bring into the math class powerful and
meaningful learning that impacts my students in a way that they perceive their learning and their
world in different ways. One museum exhibition that explored that connection was “The
Numbers on Nature”, where the idea of the patterns found in nature could inspire students to
rethink their experiences with patterns, and the way they figure out these patterns when they see
only geometric figures. These are the kind of learning experiences that I want to facilitate in my
classroom.
Through reading, listening, experiencing and reflecting, I found a framework that will help me to
redesign my instruction. I am going step by step, but I am doing it. From the article “Teaching
that Sticks” by Chip Heath & Dan Heath, I will use some treats to infuse ideas that my students
will want to take and keep with them. I will start integrating simplicity (priority ideas, more time
for understanding), concreteness (towards using more real-world experiences and less
manipulatives), credibility (students testing their own ideas), and stories (students more engaged
by using their imagination) into my teaching. I have been inspired to take risks and create some
thoughtful lessons that conduce and develop understanding.
Finally, I agree partially that scripted instruction takes away from creativity, classroom
discussions and improvisation. However, learning results can derivate from a well structure mini-
lesson, and by giving space to the students to later to experiment with different ideas and
approaches and by letting them compare and contrast what they know. Like a musician who is
learning to play an instrument, at the beginning they need to learn how to maneuver their fingers
on the instrument, and put notes together to make a melody. From that point of view, there is no
contribution from the student and no feeling embedded into the song. However, as the student
gets confident playing the instrument using different notes, changing some tunes, and putting in
lyrics, the song becomes part of his/her, and a new way to deliver that song has been born. I am
more aware now of strategies that don’t really contribute to the educative enrichment of my
students. I know that I have used scripted teaching for most of my lessons, to make sure that my
grammar and vocabulary are appropriate to what they expect from me. I rehearse what I am
going to say, not because I don’t know, but because I don’t want to have mistakes pronouncing
everything correctly. Probably these ideas have limited the flow of my instruction. I am aware
that facilitating discussions, managing group improvisations, and allowing interactions between
students and the teacher promote exchange and development of new ideas. I definitely will use
some of the strategies learned from the improvisation class such as Machine, Free Tag, and Give
& Take to little by little feel more confident and let the advantages of improvisation responses
grow in the classroom.