Mitchell Tandy

April 17, 2014

A Changing Orchard for New Trees

The individuals that I interviewed came from very different backgrounds and,
as a result, had very different views on education. The teacher whose classroom I
observed was Christopher Morroni, a white middle-school math teacher who is a
good friend of my older brother, and the community member that I interviewed was
Delcia Garcia, a Latino woman who works in the deans office of Arapahoe
Community College with my mother. While both interviewees agreed on the
challenges associated with providing for the unique needs of all groups, Morronis
views on schooling were more focused on the micro level, while Garcias views were
more focused on the macro level. While teachers like Mr. Morroni are utilizing
creative approaches to curriculum to support a variety of learning styles,
intelligences, and groups, the constantly changing landscape of the education
system provides unique challenges to the future of educators.

Compare and Contrast

The Purpose of Schooling
Both interviewees expressed that the purpose of schools was in teaching
students to be self-determined learners who could adapt to the constant changes of
society, but the perspectives leading to that concept were very different. Garcia
explained the purpose of schooling as an overall system with the purpose of
creating a better generation that could learn more than theyre being taught. It was
important to her that education allows for progression of learning and adapting,
because the world of tomorrow is more unknown and foreign than almost any other
time in history.

On the other hand, Morroni commented on a radical paradigm shift in the

education system that we were all going through. Rather than the teacher being
the holder of knowledge who distributes that knowledge to students, schools were
moving more towards a student-led classroom where the teacher mediates their
learning, referred to as dialogical pedagogy by scholars like Fernandez-Balboa and
Marshall. The traditional teacher-dominated classrooms generally either omit
dialogue in the classroom or relegate it to a secondary status, thus eliminating the
conditions for teachers and students to become active citizens (Fernandez-Balboa
32). While it was an uncomfortable shift at first, Morroni complemented the system
as being better fit to prepare students [to utilize] the independent learning
strategies theyll need in high school and college. I would imagine that students
would greatly appreciate the ability to direct their own learning, and that organic
acquisition of knowledge is no doubt more valuable than knowledge shoved on
students via lecture.
Experiences in Schools
Garcia was always the book worm in school, and social divisions in her
schools caused that to negatively affect her social status. She commented that it
might be because of her memory, but she couldnt remember her school reaching
out to her or other students to break down these divisions. As a result, it wasnt
until college that Garcia came to realize that those social divisions didnt really
matter in the end, and that her educational achievements were much more
valuable. Her schools simply failed to establish a solid community of students.
Oftentimes, it is easier for school faculty to simply do exactly what is said in the job
description, but we, as future teachers and human beings, have a moral
responsibility to positively affect the community of learners around us. If one looks

at a very particular or limited area, and says, I am only responsible for this much
and does not bother to consider the consequences of ones actions on the larger
community-this is where problems begin (Dalai Llama 32).
Morroni shared that he always knew that making math interesting for
students was going to be a challenge, but he was still surprised with the difficulty
such a task presented in the actual classroom itself. Even before students enter the
classroom, many of them have an acquired fear or hatred of the entire field of
mathematics. I noticed from my observation that Morroni was trying to include
engaging and fun activities in the lessons he was teaching, but at this point, theyre
deviations from the usual schedule of worksheets and computation. The demands
of consistently changing curriculum standards make it difficult to sustain a constant
flow of engaging lesson plans.
Are Schools Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners?
Both interviewees agreed that the needs of some groups of students werent
being me, but even more specifically, they both commented on how difficult it is
from the schools perspective. Garcia specifically commented on how the issue is
complicated by self-identification. Since people of certain groups, like the LGBTQ
community, face harassment and prejudice from nearly all sides, it is challenging for
schools to reach out to those students without knowing who they are. For members
of the LGBTQ community, the need for specific help is certainly there: eightypercent of lesbian and gay youths report feelings of isolation (Hetrick-Martin
Institute) (Gevelinger 66). The best solution available for the current situation is a
move towards a more educated, connected community where individuals who are
unable to self-identify are not under such intense pressure. Morroni had an
optimistic view of the future of the situation, saying that the effectiveness of the

teachers he has seen regarding reaching out to students of all groups is greatly
improved as they gain more and more experience in the classroom. I hope he is
right, because schools communities could certainly use leaders to bring students
together.

Observations
Mr. Morronis classroom was a uniquely valuable place to observe, because
this is only his second year of teaching. As a result, I was provided with specific
insights on the challenges and advantages associated with being a new teacher.
Similarly to other classrooms that I have seen over the course of this semester,
Morronis classes were very open; students were encouraged to take charge and
lead their own education with the teachers guidance. This always continues to
surprise me, since my classes in middle and high school were structured very
differently, with a focus on lecture.
Morroni teaches one 8th grade class followed by three 7th grade classes, all
from standard achievement-level groups. The 8 th grade class began with a warm-up
vocabulary activity regarding types of angles before moving into a unique mini-golf
course activity, where students used measuring instruments and graph paper to
design a hole for a mini-golf course that contained certain types of angles. The 7 th
grade classes began with a review of class standards and grading procedures so
that students would understand the grades they received on a recent constructed
response, which was a written assignment that required students to utilize
arithmetic and computational skills along with linguistic skills in order to give a
written explanation of their answers. It seemed as though the purpose for the
review over grading standards was because the class had preformed rather poorly

on that assignment. After going over the answers to the constructed response as a
class, Morroni had students work individually on a new constructed response for the
remainder of the class period.
Learning Styles
The mini-golf course activity catered to multiple learning styles in a way that
allowed all students to approach it from whichever angle they could work best from.
Concrete random learners could enjoy actually being allowed to make something,
and I noticed some students, who were probably concrete random learners, actually
making the hole they designed out of pencils, notebooks, and other items they had
on-hand. This was after they finished the required diagram, of course. Abstract
random learners could enjoy the creativity of the assignment, and even though the
grading of the assignment didnt give any points for windmills or castles in the
designs, several students drew them on their designs anyway. Regarding abstract
sequential and concrete sequential learners, I couldnt identify any students who
stood out as learning sequentially, but these students might have simply completed
the explicit requirements of the assignment and moved on. Still, I would imagine
that the applicability of the assignment to real world problems would have been
appreciated by these sequential learners.
Multiple Intelligences
The two main activities that were chosen by Morroni for the day that I
observed both encouraged the use of multiple intelligences beyond the
logical/mathematical skills that one would expect from a math course. The mini-golf
course activity required logical/mathematical skills in order to accurately measure
and label the angles, but it actually required much more visual/spatial intelligence in
order to design the course in a way that expressed the students creativity. In order

to allow students with stronger intra- or inter-personal intelligences to utilize those

attributes, Morroni explicitly told students that they could work alone or in groups,
as long as they all designed their own hole for the course. I observed a very diverse
mix of co-operative strategies, with some students working entirely alone, others
working entirely with those around them, and still others mixing the two
approaches.
The constructed responses activity highlighted a form of intelligence that is
rarely invited to a math course in middle schools: linguistic intelligence. This is a
trend that I have noticed in other classrooms that I have visited this semester, and
it is an incredibly vital step forward for the field of math education. When I was in
school, we never wrote anything in math class. Even at the community college
level, math was entirely numerical, without any written work at all. However,
written assignments like the constructed responses in Morronis class not only build
on students general linguistic skills, but they also prepare students for upper level
math courses, where written proofs become more central to courses than numerical
problems! If the United States education system wants to inspire more STEM
(science, technology, engineering, and math) scholars, then giving students these
linguistic skills is an absolute necessity.
Management, Instruction, and Relationship-Building
Morronis balance of instruction, management, and relationship-building was
effective with his 8th grade class, but his 7th grade classes saw a less balanced
spread of activity purposes.

Minutes Spent on M, R, and I Activities

45
40
35

Time Spent (min)

30

Instruction

25

Relationship-Building
Management

20
15
10
5
0
Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4

For the 8th grade class, the warm-up activity allowed students to activate
background knowledge regarding previous lessons, and when students asked
questions regarding what certain vocabulary meant, Morroni directed them to the
word wall so they could find the answers independently. After this instruction
activity, it was time to introduce the mini-golf course activity, and Morroni took
full advantage of this opportunity to build his relationship with the students. He
began by asking the class if they had ever gone mini-golfing, and every hand in the
classroom went up. They talked about all the different things the students have
seen at mini-golf courses, and Morroni even called on me to share my story of an
experience of a fun pirate-themed course I went to in New Jersey. Afterwards,
students got started making their courses. However, a significant issue arose when
a student arrived late, just after the directions for the assignment were completed.
The student was reasonably confused when the rest of the class began working on
their mini-golf courses and quickly became frustrated and confrontational. Morroni
unfortunately didnt notice that the student missed the directions of the

assignment, so when the student expressed this frustration, Morroni misidentified it

as a behavioral problem from the student. The conflict was resolved with the
student getting back to work without the actual dilemma being identified, and I
would come to learn later that his work was unsurprisingly unrelated to the
assignment.
The 7th grade classes were very similar in their schedules structure. A
considerable percentage of the class period was devoted to management activities,
such as going over grading standards and giving back graded assignments, and the
remainder of the time was devoted to instructional activities, such as going over
answers to the previous constructed response and working on the next one. I
couldnt identify any relationship-building activities in any of these class periods,
which was perhaps in the interests of time, but I had a feeling that those classes
didnt have a very positive relationship with Morroni. This lack of a positive
relationship seemed to stem from an issue Kessler identifies as the lesson plan
[being] more important than what I have named the teaching presence (Kessler
8). When Morroni was not modeling caring and personable behavior with his
students, he was not adequately building the safe, reinforcing environment that
students need in order to learn as a community of students.
Gender

Period 1

Attention Given to
Genders
Period 2
Period 3

Period 4

10

11

16

19

Fig. 2 : Ratios of attention given to male (blue) and female (red)

students divided by class.

While most classes over the course of the day maintained a relatively equal
amount of attention given to each gender, I was surprised to find that overall, the
girls of the class received a little more attention than the boys of the class.
Overarching studies in the United States have indicated females receive less

attention from teachers (Chapman 1). These observations show how effective
Morronis training was in preparing him to teach in a diverse classroom environment
when it comes to gender equity. However, to my disappointment, I noticed my own
gender bias when I felt more compelled to tell the female students to stop chatting
while Morroni was talking even though several male students were talking at an
equal volume level elsewhere in the classroom, which Chapman had highlighted in
her article as well. This is something I will need to be aware of as I continue to
prepare myself for the profession.

Conclusion
The future of education in the United States is a source of great concern and
hope for people from all walks of life. Garcia expressed the ambiguity of the future
well when she told me that schools face challenges that have always been there,
but [they werent] talked about until now, and there are even more new challenges
on top of that. Challenges like burden to report lawsuits were oftentimes
unaddressed in the past, but they are an integral part of the teaching profession
today. Morroni expressed concerns over the approaching common core and
whether or not current students would be able to make the jump to the new
standards. He also expressed concerns on how the current assessment system
placed almost all accountability on the teachers rather than other contributing
factors to student achievement. However, despite these concerns, both of my

interviewees expressed confidence that teachers across the nation would find a way
to tackle these challenges every day they walk into the classroom, just as they have
in years past. I share my interviewees confidence in teachers to find a way to put
their students first, and each generation will continue to improve upon the
contributions of the last.

Works Cited
Chapman, Amanda. Gender Bias in Education. Edchange.org. 2005. Web.
His Holiness the Dalai Llama. Education and the Human Heart. The Heart of
Learning: Spirituality in
Education. Penguin Putnam: New York, NY (1999). Web.
Fernandez-Balboa, J. & Marshall, J. Dialogical pedagogy in teacher education.
Journal of
Teacher Education. May-June 1994. Web.
Gevelinger, Mary Ellen and Zimmerman, Laurel. How Catholic Schools are Creating
a Safe Climate for
Gay and Lesbian Students. Educational Leadership (October 1997). EBSCO
publishing (2002).
Kessler, Rachael. The Teaching Presence. Virginia Journal of Education
(November 2000). Web.

Observation log