SummerFinalReflection

OscarNewman

LookingBack
What I have learned
There were many articles for this course that I read when I first became a certified
teacher through DePaul Universitys Urban Teacher Corps in 1998-1999. I was pleased
to revisit Shulmans work and really focus on what comprises learning. It is useful to
revisit educational research from time to time, and I have found that the practice of
working as a teacher precludes time spent with academic writing.
However, what I found to be more useful was to learn about aesthetic learning and
the role of creativity in teaching, which were among the original attractions of
working as a teacher. I have found that a central tension in my experience as a
teacher is balancing the competing focuses on un- or in-disciplined play versus formal
instruction. Moreover, much of my own professional development has comprised
performative contradictions like lessons for teachers on engaging students with group
activities presented in lecture format. (An aside: this has been a major source of my
skepticism about the flipped classroom: it is still a lecture) In any case, when we do a
thought experiment about how we have learned to do something we enjoy and how
we propose to teach ideas to our students, we often find a disconnect.
This tension was highlighted in one of the first articles we read, Rethinking
Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century, that introduced me to the idea of
extending play over a period of time. A classroom example may highlight my current
practice and what I have learned. When I teach students about electrical circuits, I
always provide my pupils the opportunity to play around with the materials. I give
them an open ended task, e.g., make something that lights up or design something
that can make a sound and let them fiddle with wires, cut-up holiday lights, duct
tape, batteries, foil, buzzers, and so on. Formal instruction follows, and while
subsequent activities also involve play, play has not really been an end in and of
itself. I think the article Learning from Creative Teachers has helped drive home
the importance of risk-taking in the classroom - a nice concept to revisit as I enter my
18th year of teaching.
I also appreciated the emphasis on the aesthetic aspect of teaching as instrumental in
making meaningful conceptual changes. In the Teaching That Sticks article, I
appreciated this focus, but the best example was the World of Wonder moments
shared by the staff as well as my colleague. I think this method was an innovative way
to approach an important goal that I have often neglected in the effort to get through

lots of content and other, seemingly pressing problems in the hand-to-mouth

existence as a teacher. Science involves values, namely the value that science is a
body of knowledge and process that is central to our world. This message can be
stated, but is best approached via important aesthetic moments of awe and wonder.
If we think of science as a process of figuring out how the world works, what better
way to drive this point home than to create a forum to let this happen in the
classroom on a regular basis. This is certainly something I am planning to do next
year.
What was new about the experience...
The emphasis on technology was completely new to me. I appreciated the time to
play and use technology to allow individual exploration during the classes while
acknowledging that this was a difficult norm to embrace, or at least one very distinct
from any workshop I have attended. What was more important than all the new
examples of technology and amazing expertise of the participants from my
perspective was the important work of considering the role of technology as a means
to learn rather than an end. Gimmicks are fun, and the sleekest phones, neatest apps,
and so on will get our attention, but I think that all the teachers in the program could
mention examples of poor implementation of technology.

In the workshop, I mentioned the example of an external floppy disk drive, still
wrapped in plastic, that I discovered in the back of the Science Lab in 2001. At that
time, the drive had essentially become a paperweight. Further conversations with
teachers in the program did make me change my mind in seeing how obsolete
technology can be repurposed and that technology is often subversive, but the story is
still one of wasted opportunities. Colleagues also mentioned how easily administrators
can be convinced to adopt a program from a salesperson without a deep examination
on what this change means for learning. What was still missing from this conversation,
I think, was some distillation of how we can avoid this problem, i.e., the important
questions we should be asking about technology implementation at the school before
we buy into something. I think developing this critical capacity will empower me as a
teacher leader.
How the experience matters to me...
The experience matters to me because I am making a transition in my role as a
teacher. I have many leadership roles as a science educator, but this year, there are
some pretty important formal changes in my role. I will become the lead teacher for
the middle school grade level team and the science coordinator. I will assemble a

team and collaborate with the Museum of Science and Industry to assess the state of
STEM education at our school and determine an action plan to improve it. This is
happening amidst major changes in staff and administration. The experience matters
to me because first, it has given me a lot of information to consider as I lead our
school towards a vision of STEM education. I have refined my ability to think about
what hallmarks of effective STEM education are through this program.
Second, as I mentioned above, I will make changes to my classroom practice as a
result of this program. This is important because I learned long ago that the most
important leadership skill is setting the example. By embodying values of STEM
education, I will be a more credible teacher leader to my colleagues (in addition to
having a bigger impact on what my students learn).

LookingForward
How this program will influence me in the future...
My goal is to create an exceptional program at my school and use our successes as a
resource for other STEM educators. This program has helped me become a better
science teacher, and has given me insight into lots of other types of classrooms. I
hope to use the relationships I have developed among my colleagues and the staff as a
resource as I encounter challenges in trying to make changes in my practice and
school. I also hope to maintain the relationships I made with other fellows in the
program, who I found to be an exceptional source of information, resources, ideas,
and problem-solving suggestions.
How this experience changes what I think about teaching...
It is important for teachers to experience things from a learners perspective from
time to time. The Curse of Knowledge presentation was very effective at
summarizing the disconnect we have as possessors of disciplinary knowledge when we
work with novices. As much as we try to be empathetic about the struggles of being a
learner, there is no substitute for the direct experience of learning something new or
feeling the pain of a deadline. This is not the first time I have had this thought, but
becoming accustomed to life on the teacher side of assignments is natural. For these
reasons, as much as I may not have appreciated the Quickfires at the time, I think
they were valuable. I do not mean, of course, that their only value is in helping my
empathize with my students as they suffer, but that these activities that were
difficult, and the conversations about living in the cloud (or my personal favorite
from my group: riding the struggle bus) are hallmarks of effective teaching and
learning. By becoming more aware of how students will perceive an effective

environment, I can be more mindful of establishing norms that will help students
persevere so they can reap the benefits of their struggle.

What I am taking from this program that I can use in the classroom...
In addition to the other changes I have listed, I would like to highlight the importance
of maintaining a balance between the lighthearted and the serious aspects of a
classroom. When I began teaching, colleagues told me to never smile before
Christmas and other nonsense. I found this to be unlivable. That kind of seriousness
is not compatible with my personality. At the same time, there are serious
standardized tests and serious district- and network-wide initiatives that I need to
enact. I have found these aspects of a teachers professional life to have the effect of
reducing smiling unless I have consciously resisted. Instructional leaders have
exhorted me to teach with a sense of urgency*. I think I would rather teach with a
sense of wonder and teach with a sense of joy. A final goal I have developed
through this program is that I would like to maintain a joyful attitude towards the
serious work of educating my pupils, as I believe we were able to conduct the summer
workshop.
One of the last readings we had, which led to powerful discussions in our group (as it
had when it was first published) was seeing the school from the perspective of a
student. I think that as I look ahead it is of the utmost importance to create a
classroom where I would be happy to place my own child.

* Lets save pessimism for better times. -- Eduardo Galeano quoting graffiti from Colombia