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Three years ago, I decided to begin my journey as a graduate student in the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University. I was four years into my teaching career and starting to feel comfortable in my role as a sixth grade math teacher. In some ways, it was nice to feel confident in the workplace, but a part of me was afraid of becoming complacent. I knew that I wanted to push myself and grow as an educator and a leader, but my goals were vague and I did not know exactly what I wanted to get out of the program. Now that it’s coming to an end, I have grown in ways that I never would have anticipated.

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Over the first few years of my teaching career, I solely engaged in

professional development that was required of me by my school

district. I will admit that even doing the bare minimum seemed  

like an inconvenience that was taking away from lesson planning

time in my classroom. As a recent college graduate, I felt like I

was equipped with the knowledge of best practices and I didn’t 

feel a sense of urgency to continue learning. I can say with certainty

that this program has tremendously helped me change my mindset 

for the better. I have been exposed to numerous books, articles, 

videos, and other resources that have challenged me to improve

my practice. I have found great value in having meaningful 

conversations about these resources, and tying them to our personal experiences, with my classmates from all over the world. I now understand the importance of continual growth and I truly consider myself a lifelong learner. Although I have gained unique knowledge and skills from all of my master's courses, there are four particular courses that have impacted me the most.

As a millennial, I have always considered myself a technology native, or someone who has grown up with and is comfortable using a variety of technologies. I mistakenly assumed that because of this, I would naturally excel at integrating technology into my lessons. Learning Mathematics with Technology (CEP 805) was a course that taught me how to think critically about technologies and how they contribute to the conceptual understanding of mathematics. I think many educators are taught to believe that simply using more technology in the classroom will lead to higher levels of student engagement and learning. I used to incorporate any technology that seemed engaging, exciting, and flashy, but I have learned to be much more selective. I now know that the quality of technology is much more important than the quantity. When I plan lessons, I consider the affordances of various technologies before deciding which one(s) to include. I think of technology as an important component of a lesson that should be purposeful in helping students achieve a learning goal.

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CEP 805 has also changed my thinking about the use of calculators in the middle school math classroom. Calculator use is generally discouraged, from the state-level all the way down to the school-level. Readings and discussions with classmates in this course have helped me see the benefits of allowing students to use calculators and other computational technologies. Imagine this - Teacher A is teaching a lesson on data analysis and she has    her students calculate the mean, median, mode, and range of several sets of data by hand. Teacher B is covering                                                                                  the same topic, but she provides calculators for her students to expedite                                                                              the calculations. Teacher B now has a great deal of time to help students                                                                              interpret, analyze, compare, and contrast the findings. This is an                                                                                          example of how calculator use can support higher-level thinking and                                                                                  conceptual understandings of mathematics. I understand that basic                                                                                    computation has a place in the classroom, but let’s face it, we live in a                                                                                  world where we have calculators at our fingertips. If my job is to prepare                                                                              my students to succeed in a 21st century world, it’s vital to teach them                                                                                  how to think rather than compute. I know that I cannot ignite change                                                                                  overnight, but I plan to start conversations with colleagues and district                                                                                leaders to open their minds to the benefits of calculator use in the                                                                                        middle school math classroom.

Another course that has influenced my thinking as a math educator is Teaching School Mathematics (TE 855). It has made me reconsider how “mathematical smartness” is defined in the classroom and the impact that it has on kids. When I was a kid, my belief that I was good at math was reinforced by high grades and scores on standardized tests. In actuality, I was not necessarily a math whiz; I was simply good at memorizing rules and repeating procedures. Still today, so many kids have a false sense of what it means to be mathematically competent. Often times, students are labeled “low”, “average”, or “high” from a young age and that greatly affects their class performance for years to come. I have learned that these labels are extremely counterproductive and often misleading. I have taught some incredible mathematical minds who were disguised as poor students. It is up to teachers to redefine what it means to be successful in math class.

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I have learned that students are more likely to be successful in math if we give them more ways to demonstrate success. Students should have opportunities to develop reasoning and problem solving skills on a daily basis; these skills are at the core of mathematics, but the misrepresentation of math in schools has pushed them aside. TE 855 introduced me to rough draft talk, an idea created by Amanda Jansen, where students share and discuss incomplete mathematical ideas. Significant learning occurs through discourse, and we as teachers need to show students that we value all strategies and ideas, not just correct “final drafts”. Rough draft talk is a great way to reframe mathematical smartness and help students become comfortable talking through their ideas. It is something that I am going to encourage in my classroom for years to come.  

Teaching and Learning Mathematical Problem Solving (TE 857) was a course that covered similar topics to TE 855, but focused more on specific pedagogical strategies for teaching math through problem solving. I learned that understanding and problem solving are synonymous; students learn mathematics by actively engaging with authentic problems. The task of finding high-quality math problems for my students always seemed daunting to me, but now I see that quality does not necessarily depend on complexity. Rigorous problems are often quite simple and open-ended, allowing for multiple entry points and solution strategies. Because a majority of problems in math textbooks are often procedural, I learned how to adapt them to improve the quality. This course also exposed me to numerous online resources, such as Youcubed, that consist of ready-made mathematical tasks for a variety of topics. I now feel confident that I can provide my students with rich math problems that will exercise their higher-level thinking muscles.  

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In TE 857, I also learned effective strategies for facilitating problem solving

in groups. Creating group roles for students is one way to hold everyone 

accountable for contributing in meaningful ways. I learned the importance

of creating roles that all students view as important to the success of the group. 

In my classroom, I have created large posters for students to reference that 

outline the responsibilities of each role. Another effective strategy for increasing 

student participation and confidence is a multiple abilities treatment, or a list of 

many skills and abilities that are needed to complete a task. This is a way of 

letting students know that no single person possesses all skills that are required 

to solve a problem, so teamwork is imperative. I have often been reluctant to                                                  incorporate group work into my classroom because of concerns about lack of                                                                student participation and engagement, but adding group roles and the multiple                                                        abilities treatment to my toolkit have made me feel much more confident.

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The last course that I want to discuss is Educating Students with Challenging Behavior (CEP 832), which has greatly influenced the way that I approach behavior management in my classroom. This course taught me that the ultimate goal for students with challenging behavior should be for them to self-regulate their behavior. If we only teach them to comply with our demands, then we aren’t really helping them learn to control their behavior in the long run. I’ve learned and experienced the benefits of having open and honest conversations with students about their behavior to help them understand how it affects others. Completing a behavior intervention project helped me see firsthand how including a student in the process can help them become more self-aware and accountable. I now approach behavior management with the mindset that my role is to support students and equip them with productive strategies as they learn to regulate their behavior. This new approach has had a positive impact on my    classroom management style, and more importantly, on my students.

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                                                          CEP 832 also helped me see the significant impact that home-school partnerships                                                            can have on a student’s behavior. I always knew the importance of building                                                                        positive relationships with families, but I was often doing most of the talking.                                                                    I have learned that there is great value in including parental input and truly                                                                        partnering with them to help their child learn self-regulation skills. Now, I always                                                              try to address challenging behaviors by having a conference with the parent(s)                                                                  and the student to hear everyone’s point of view and come up with a solution                                                                    together. I have included a home aspect in many of my behavior intervention                                                                  plans, where parents participate in the execution of the plan. When students see                                                                their parents and teacher working together, they are more likely to be successful.

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My experience in the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University has tremendously impacted me both as an educator and a person. As I have detailed throughout this essay, I have learned so much about best practices and methodologies for teaching mathematics, incorporating technology, and classroom management. While I will carry that knowledge with me throughout my career, there is something even greater that this Masters program has given me – a new mindset. I have developed a brand new love of learning. I am no longer afraid of becoming complacent because that is simply not an option anymore. I feel compelled to not only continue learning and growing myself, but to share and discuss new information with fellow educators. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, there are countless resources and online platforms for educators to connect and continue learning together.

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As I prepare for the upcoming school year with a fresh, new mindset, I feel excited about what is to come. My professors at Michigan State University have equipped me with the knowledge and skills to improve my practice in many aspects. I must admit, though, sometimes I feel pressure to take everything that I have learned and implement it in my classroom overnight. Fortunately, a common lesson that I have learned from my coursework is that gradual improvement makes a big difference. I have done enough self-reflection to know that I have some teaching habits that are not best practice, but I possess a metaphorical toolkit to help me make steady improvements over time. The most important thing is this – I will never stop growing as an educator. I will always strive to do better and learn more. I will leave my mark on my students and the field of education the way Michigan State University has left its mark on me.