During my over twenty years of math teaching career, I taught a lot of different courses to students with a broad range of needs, knowledge, and cultural backgrounds. I taught freshmen classes and high level Ph.D. classes. I even taught a course for university professors, on using computer technology in mathematical education at the Moscow State University in the eighties, where everybody in my class was at least twice of my age at that time. Several important general principles that I try to use in my teaching practice can be formulated as follows:
1. No matter how experienced a teacher is, every new class and every new student pose a challenge. For excellence in teaching, there is always room for improvement.
2. A teacher has to appeal to
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Being a successful teacher depends on creating a learning environment with the open exploration of ideas, a relationship in which students feel respected as well as challenged. Students should be encouraged to stretch themselves a bit beyond their level of comfort and be given an opportunity to leave every class feeling that they have overcome a new challenge successfully.
4. Teaching should be an integral component of the creation of new knowledge, an initial step toward continuing education, and first of all, self-education.
5. Though student satisfaction is important for better learning, teaching -- especially in mathematics -- should not become a popularity contest, or a show. A teacher is responsible to the society in general, and should resist the pressure of lowering academic standards in education.
Teaching of
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Grades are mostly based on evaluation of a content-learning. At the same time, I also implemented several ideas in my classes that seem to be not very typical:
1. Grades are never curved, thus, there is no limit of high/low grades.
2. I use multiple-choice tests and avoid giving partial credits in low-level undergraduate courses.
By enforcing these rules, I try to take my share of responsibility in the fight against the grade inflation, which became an evident problem in recent years.
My policy on retaking tests is unique in the department. Every student has a opportunity to retake every test; however, the grade can go down in the process if the student is not well prepared. I keep students fully informed of their progress during the semester, always announce final grades before the end of the semester, and give every student a last chance to improve the final grade during the week of finals.
Teaching and Technology
Technology is an essential and integrated part of my teaching. It is crucial for students to feel comfortable with the technologies that are becoming available; they need to know how to use a new technology effectively, what its limits are, and what to do when the technology fails. I am quite interested and familiar with recent innovations. Computer simulations and numerical experiments are traditional parts of many courses I
I know that as I grow and learn as a teacher my theory on education will change and grow with me. I know that the best thing that I can bring to the table when it comes to being a teacher is the willingness to learn along with my students on what works best for us in our classroom, what is important to us when it comes to learning, and to change what needs to be change in order to have a positive learning environment for my student. The most important thing as a teacher I will bring with me into my classroom is the unwavering desire to help to guide, shape, and above all foster a love of learning in my
I believe that the most valuable lesson learned for me through my experience was that it is completely different when you have to come into school having the mindset of an educator rather than just a student; meaning that there is much more to focus on as a future educator rather than just being a student. For instance, as a student, you typically go in there and worry about just learning the lesson and completing the assignments for your own benefit. With the mindset of an educator, there are far more things going on in your head besides the lesson of the day. For example, you have to constantly wonder whether students are able to understand the lesson and whether your methods of teaching are effective. You also wonder how your class learns best since not all students learn the same. So, you have to have a variety in your teaching so that each student is able to feel comfortable at certain points of your assignments and teaching skills. One of the least valuable things I learned from my field experience was traditional note taking and lectures. I say this because it is something that I grew up knowing in my classrooms when I was a students. I believe that learning new ways to teach is extremely beneficial and I enjoy seeing more and more teachers incorporating this into their lesson
Teaching is a very rewarding career if you learn and understand how to work with the diversity of the classrooms we teach in. As teachers, we need to be more vigilant of where are students come from. Before we can teach we need to know who we are teaching and what background, knowledge, and customs they bring with them to the classroom. We must also be aware of the factors that are relevant to the academic achievement of the students we currently teach. There are many of these factors, but I want to focus on two; teacher quality and low teacher expectations.
One must be very knowledgeable and understanding of the content that is to be presented. It is important that the teacher be able to teach lessons that are both rigorous and clear to diverse learning styles.
As the instructor in my classroom, I am responsible for making sure that my students reach the highest possible level of understanding in the subject area that I teach.
Education is a very important aspect of our lives. It is our education that makes us who we are and determines what we become. Therefore, education is not something to be taken lightly. As a teacher, my goal will be to provide the best possible education for my students. Every student is unique. I must see students for who they are individually and respect their ideas and opinions. Each student has a different learning style. I must take this into consideration because I want to provide a constructive learning opportunity for every student. I believe that every student has the potential to learn.
The attributes of an outstanding teacher are deeply rooted in being an effective instructor whose primary focus is to develop an impactful learning environment conducive to promoting the success of the whole student. An effective teacher utilizes best practices in the classroom to guide instruction that promotes the success of students within the educational setting. This type of teacher would also seek opportunities to develop positive relationships with students by learning their interest, learning styles, and comfort level with school subjects as well as to be cognizant of environmental factors which may impact their learning. An effective teacher collects and analyzes data and uses the data in decision making in order to provide
This being my first year of teaching I feel there are so many things that I have learned, and have helped me too become a good teacher. Yet I have so much more to learn, I still believe that students have the ability to learn and as a teacher it is my job to find ways to help them to become the best person they can be. Through being a reflective teacher, using professionalism, respecting diversity and having collaboration and community connecting this can be accomplished. When I am having fun teaching the student will have learning that material, this will help them to be relaxed and engaged in that lesson. I feel it is important to connect what they are learning to things that they have experienced in the real-world.
Teachers have the opportunity to revolutionize their teaching and able to learn, re-learn and unlearn. Teachers’ readiness should not be limited to the current technology and any new sign of another technology must be accepted so that they are updated with the
Educationalists, Lecturers, students and everyday people find it so easy to list the good characteristics that make up a good teacher; unfortunately it is not that easy to become a good teacher just by making a list. There can be no doubt the teacher profession is a c...
Upon entering the field of education, I am faced with many questions. Will the students like me? Will I have a large class? Will I be a good teacher? A few of the questions that definitely need to be answered before I enter the classroom, are what methods should I use to teach? What aspects of which methods will work best for me? What philosophy best exemplifies the way I want to bestow the learning process to my students? In my quest to become an elementary teacher I shall use a variety of aspects from past philosophers of education. As long as each child is learning, I feel that I am fulfilling my goal, and a difference is being made, I am on my way to a successful classroom.
The teacher is the head of the classroom, which mean that he/she is the example and should lead as such. Qualities like hard work, dedication and patience are all things that student can learn from their teacher. As a knowledgeable practicing professional, it is essential that he/she knows his/her content. If you do not fully understand something yourself, it could be difficult to relay it to someone else. Knowing your content also allows you to teach it in different ways to assist the needs of students learning styles. Classroom management is also a very important characteristic of an effective teacher. If you do not have good classroom management skills, knowing your content will mean nothing. This skill allows you to provide structure for your students and ensure that your time to display your content knowledge is used wisely. Having high expectation for your students is a must in the classroom. While educating, I want to help my students with personal growth. Having high expectations is the most important characteristic to me. I feel that it is most important because even if you know your content and manage your class well, if your students don’t feel like you believe in them, they will have no reason to want to work hard. Knowing that someone is cheering you on and
In order for learning to take place in the classroom the teacher has to put in place an effective teaching and learning strategy. Being an effective teacher is not something that can be achieved instantaneously but rather something that has to be continuously developed and improved upon over time. Petty mentions how good teachers are not born but rather make themselves and that effective teaching comes from learning from your mistakes and successes. Petty, p. 516, 2009. This process involves teacher reflection and assessment of the effectiveness of different teaching strategies used in the classroom. It is only then that teachers can learn and advance themselves.
As with every academic subject, there are a variety of strategies for teaching mathematics to school-aged students. Some strategies seem to be better than others, especially when tackling certain topics. There is the direct instruction approach where students are given the exact tools and formulas they need to solve a problem, sometimes without a clear explanation as to why. The student is told to do certain steps in a certain order and in turn expects to do them as such at all times. This leaves little room for solving varying types of problems. It can also lead to misconceptions and students may not gain the full understanding that their teachers want them to have. So how can mathematics teachers get their students to better understand the concepts that are being taught?
Being a teacher is not an easy task as many people could think. To be a teacher does not only imply to know the subject to be taught, it also includes being willing to constantly improve oneself integrally, as much as updating the resources and materials one uses in teaching. Reflecting and analyzing over and over again the best way to teach to learn and how to make students to extend what has been learned. The many hours spend in the classroom will never be enough to plan lessons, prepare materials, review pupils tasks and exams, as well, all the administrative requirements one has to cover for whatever institution we work. Besides all this a good teacher, a professional one, will have to find the time to keep preparing to improve oneself.