Synthesis Paper – Richard Bradley Whaley - TE 872 – Teachers as Teacher Educators

A Well-Started Beginner.

I grew up as an outdoors kid who loved science at an early age. I spent my time after school with

personal bug collections, dinosaur books and Jacques Cousteau television programs. Like many in the

education field, I had a highly influential high school science teacher who spent countless hours with

students beyond the school day. This led me to a bachelor’s of science in general Biology and an

unknown future. Fortuitously, my first job opened the door to a career path in environmental education,

a field I hadn’t known. Over the years I worked for a conservation agency, residential camp, and nature

center. I liked the work in what we termed “non-formal education,” but recognized that there was

something missing. At a 45 minute nature center program, you can’t build much of a relationship with a

student. Even when a student spends a week at camp, you don’t typically have a life-long impact. But I

knew that teachers could have that impact and wanted to find out what a classroom was really like. So I

sought and found the SETS-UP program at MSU.

Sometime during my first day of the SETS-UP program (Supporting Early-Career Teachers of Science

through Urban Partnerships), Professor Gail Richmond explained that the program we were embarking

on wasn’t designed to create expert teachers. She said that we were working to become well-started

beginners. As a 45 year old career changer who loves learning new things, I was perfectly happy with

the idea of becoming “a well-started beginner”. Although my peers and I had come to the program with

existing science degrees and highly variable education experiences, we simply didn’t have enough time

to develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a traditional teacher education program. We would be

entering the classroom much more quickly. At that time, because of my background, I was more focused

on Gail’s words “well-started.” I would come to realize that I would find more challenges with the word

beginner. Because I had worked tangentially to the classroom in my whole career, had substitute taught,
had married a teacher, I arrogantly thought that I wasn’t truly a beginner. I thought I had a head start

over my peers. I was wrong.

When I was in the job search before coming to MSU, I completed a self assessment that ranked my

top five personal strengths/themes as: Achiever, Analytical, Arranger, Includer, and Learner. The results

were meaningful to me and are the lenses through which I view myself when I consider how my classes

and experiences fit the Goals and Standards of the Master of Arts in Teaching and Curriculum program.

As a Learner

As a learner I value education and scholarship in all its forms. The MATC program has helped satisfy my

great desire to learn and continuously improve. While the personal theme of Learner feels like it could

apply to the entirety of the program, I’ll use it specifically to apply to the Program Standard Four:

reflective, systemic inquiry and study of one’s practice.

The idea of refining my practice came naturally to me when I was twenty two and performing repetitions

of the same program on the water cycle (for example) for fourth graders. As I would visit one class after

another, I would vary my introduction, my level of modeling, my own participation in the presentations.

Doing the exact same program five or six times in a day, and then again at another school two days later,

it was easy to try different modifications to try to improve and simply for fun. Looking back, I had

minimal knowledge of the student groups themselves, so the variation and refinement was really more

for my own continuous improvement. What would each change I made do to the group dynamic? I was

focused on the process of learning.

In TE 894: Laboratory & Field Experiences in Teaching, Curriculum, and Schooling, after my first hour

Biology class, my mentor was always challenging me to think about what refinements I would need to

make to conduct a better lesson with my seventh hour class. She would again often ask at the end of the
day about what I thought might need to change in tomorrow’s lesson based on today’s actions. I had

previously imagined making minor modifications, but the MATC program showed me how essential

ongoing reflection and response is. I remember my growth in this process through the year as I build my

personal toolkit of skills. At the beginning of the internship I was often truly at a loss to make

suggestions for changes. But the end of the year I was feeling much more competent, although I still felt

like a novice. There were many days when I could have used more time to effectively plan and anticipate

student actions. It became obvious that the more deliberate I had been in preparations, the more

smoothly each class ran. Right now as a first year teacher of ninth grade earth science students, I find

that whenever I am not sufficiently reflective about my practice, student learning suffers. This was the

first time with earth science not only for me, but also for the other two ninth grade science teachers and

for the school as a whole. As we worked through the year to create lessons and write common

assessments, I had the nearly constant feeling that we needed to do more to give the students more

meaningful ways to learn.

TE 861: Action Research in K-12 Science & Math Classrooms helped me understand how to be systematic

in tackling a problem of practice. In this first year implementing ninth grade Earth Science at Battle Creek

Central High School, the other two teachers and I have unanimously agreed that although we were

employing a variety of active learning strategies, we were using too much direct instruction and not

enough inquiry-based lessons. My project (Artifact 1 – Action Research Proposal) was to take our Earth

Science curriculum and change it into a more inquiry-based model. At the end of the first semester next

year, as a team, we’ll look at the impact on both assessment scores and classroom behavioral measures.

This formal action research will help us to make decisions on where and how our lesson changes were

most effective. This artifact also demonstrates meeting MATC Goal 1: Critical Inquiry. In this action

research we will be analyzing a complex matter because the data is a year to year comparison of

different student results. It is collaborative between the three of us teaching Earth Science, so it is
taking into account multiple perspectives, not just mine as a practitioner. The project also demonstrates

MATC Goal 2: Accomplished Teaching, because it is an ambitious effort to strengthen a targeted area of

teaching. It was easier to teach with direct methods last year as we were learning the content, dealing

with new NGSS, and writing new common summative assessments. I am really trying to expand my

repertoire this year by transitioning out teaching to much more inquiry-based. .

As an Includer and Arranger

An Includer is a person who has heightened awareness of those who feel left out and makes efforts to

include them. In general it means I make effort to have people feel welcome and involved. As an

Arranger, I have strengths in organization, and efficiency, but also flexibility. This applies to tasks &

projects, spaces and objects, as well as people and groups.

I used to use these strengths in my roles as Assistant Director and Executive Director, helping teams

function effectively, but my world was smaller then. I had grown up with limited exposures to diverse

populations in my small farm town. Because of a scholarship I attended a less diverse college. My

chosen career field then (and now) is dominated by white, middle class people. Through my church, I

had begun making some deliberate efforts to better understand racial issues in our country and in

myself. I participated in mission trips to Benton Harbor, Michigan and Ghana. I knew I was still a

beginner in this area.

My eyes were finally opened in TE 825: Diverse Learners and Learning Subject Matter, as I began to

address MATC Standard 1: Understanding and commitment to students and their diversity. I had heard a

current teacher say, when asked about responding to the diversity of the school during an interview, that

“kids were just kids,” implying equal treatment. Authors like Herbert Kohl and Gloria Ladson-Billings

contradicted this mentality and described specific differences. While I remember relishing the class

discussions, I also remember still being tentative to speak openly and felt like my peers were the same.
So the class was facilitating a beginning understanding for me but we needed to go further. I asked the

instructor when we would do a deeper dive and she said the upcoming class. When I got to TE 822:

Issues of Culture in Classroom & Curriculum, I was ready. The class readings and discussions and all

assignments spurred me to look deeply at my own position as a member of multiple dominant groups.

The culminating assignment was to write an autobiography of our positionality (Artifact 2 –

School/Cultural Autobiography). When I consider Program Standard 1: Understanding and commitment

to students and their diversity, you can’t be committed to students as individuals if you don’t realize

even the most basic ways in which they see themselves. The class taught me that on multiple levels as a

dominant group member (race, gender, class) my first reaction is to think of all identities as equal. I don’t

think I’d ever even thought of myself as white until I was in middle school. In order to respect and

embrace difference, you have to be aware of it. To this end, beyond but inspired by what I had already

learned in the MATC program, in the spring and summer of 2017 I sought out then participated in a local

initiative called the Albion Marshall Resilient Communities Project to further my growth (race-based

initiative. This past school year, Battle Creek Public schools put on a broad offering of elective

professional development workshops. Though it was double the time commitment of other options, I

selected the Equity Task Force and met eight times for three hours through the year to deepen our

understandings and relationships. Artifact 2 and these subsequent actions I took also reveal attainment

of MATC Goal 1: Critical Inquiry because it shows my effort to examine my beliefs, values and practices.

But there was another part of TE 822 that speaks most directly to the MATC Program Standard 2:

Understanding of subject matter, how to teach it, and how to design curricula, instruction, and

assessment to foster students understanding. We were assigned to prepare a multi-cultural unit plan

(Artifact 3 – Multicultural Unit Plan) and I remember the instructor being responsive to the needs of our

class group. Rather than write up a new plan, we worked in teams to pull a lesson from TE 891 and then

use our newly found knowledge to adapt and revise our lesson. After completing our work, then we
traded with each other and looked at two other team’s work to make suggestions. I found this powerful

because it is so practical. Though I’m always on the look-out for some silver bullet that makes things a

little easier, I haven’t found any written materials ready to use that already have a focused multicultural

approach. Revising existing materials is how things usually happen, how they get improved.

The Multicultural Unit Plan exhibits MATC Goal 1: Critical Inquiry because we were taking an existing

lesson and looking at it and reviewing the corresponding scholarly literature to see how we could apply

the best practices of culturally relevant teaching to improve the lesson. The artifact also is an example of

MATC Goal 2: Accomplished Teaching in that we were trying to build our pedagogical knowledge and

skills in order to better teach diverse students. We were drawing from the literature trying to become

better teachers.

Because I taught Earth Science and Physics this year and they were both new to me, I feel like I missed

out a little on meeting Standard 2 to the degree that I had hoped for. Teaching biology would be my first

choice and it would have allowed me to deepen my experience in order to provide a better student

experience. But earth science is my second choice and now I have a more broad experience to draw

from. Remembering the idea of being a well started beginner, I really just have to embrace the idea of

being a beginner for a longer period of time than I would choose. I’m looking forward to a second year

to really re-formatting and re-sequencing our units of study. All the formative and summative

assessments need improvement. It’s going to be another busy year. Additionally, at the end of the year

last May our Equity Task Force met with the Superintendent and discussed ways that we might not only

stay together and advance our own learning, but also begin to make more meaningful strides at the

school in this upcoming year.

As a person who is Analytical

Because I like to look for the reasons and causes of things, I think this may have been one of the reasons

I was attracted at an early age to science, which is often trying to answer these questions. I like to

consider all my options and think about all the factors that might affect a particular situation. I have

used this strength at other jobs to do things like create in-depth fundraising plans and organizational

strategic plans.

When looking at the standards, the one where I utilize this strength the most is in addressing Program

Standard 3: Understanding and use of theoretical perspectives and conceptual frameworks to situate

and analyze issues and problems of practice and policy. In TE 801: Professional Roles and Teaching

Practice 1, I was taught to really use this strength in our Case Study project (Artifact 4 – Student Case

Study). We were asked to take a look at a problem of practice, then over time, objectively analyze it,

create an action plan and address the issue, and then evaluate our actions. It was both rewarding and

exceedingly challenging. I especially liked the idea that we should step back from the situation and look

at it as a dispassionate observer. This fit my general analyzer strength and my science background. What

I found most challenging was the idea that we can really understand all the factors that might be shaping

a student’s behavior. As a new intern, I believed that there were many things about student’s behaviors

that I wasn’t even fully capable of being aware of yet. The simplest analogy here would be a new

student driver who doesn’t notice many things in their environment because they are so focused on the

road. I really remember the beginning of internship feelings of being overwhelmed. But also remember

my professor pushing back on my capability to be a good analytical observer early on. She taught me to,

in sequence, identify a problem of practice, analyze, act, and then evaluate whether further action or

analysis was needed. One of the things I have come to see in myself, as part of the program, is my

enjoyment of the analysis part of the process. But I have to be careful because the purpose of the

analysis it to take action and sometimes in a classroom setting you have to make decisions quickly and

with limited information. This is frustrating for an analytical person but I understand that from other
peoples perspectives, not taking action to address problems quickly can be just as frustrating. The Case

Study artifact also shows evidence for MATC Goals 1: Critical Inquiry and Goal 2: Accomplished Teaching.

In the case study, we were specifically trying to step outside ourselves and really consider multiple

options for student’s behavior. We were asked to create four hypotheses for the specific student

behaviors. We were integrating these real-world student behaviors with our learning from author Eric

Toshalis’s book on student resistance. Directly addressing these different possibilities then, we took

action. This expanded our pedagogical skills and we evaluated our impact.

As an Achiever

As an Achiever I take great pride in being, productive, efficient, and accomplished. I don’t like violating

rules or producing poor results. This has led to a lot of frustration for me in the MATC program simply

because of the magnitude of the task of becoming accomplished in so many areas. While I can see that I

am making strides, I feel like there is so much farther to go to move away from the “well-started

beginner” moniker. I’m an optimist at heart, but when considering my current level of proficiency, I think

that my glass isn’t half full, but instead is only one tenth full.

I’ve utilized priority checklists all my life and derived simple pleasure crossing both major and minor

items off of the list. I’ve been a person who could get things done by simply outworking those around

me. I didn’t mind being the first to arrive and the last to leave. This mindset helped me do more than

just work, leading me to: extensive professional development opportunities, volunteer work in

community organizations, and leadership roles in professional organizations.

Being a new teacher and MATC graduate student has certainly satisfied my need for action. When I think

of Program Standard 6: Proactive participation in collaborative initiatives, professional learning; I think of

my first PLC. In TE 804: Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice II, we were organized into small

groups that functioned as Professional Learning Communities. We observed each other teaching then
evaluated one another. This had the benefit of giving the experience of classroom observations, lesson

study discussions, and at the same time introduced us to the structure of professional evaluation rubrics

(Marzano, Danielson, etc). I also remember that throughout the SETS-UP program, professors have

always advocated for our membership in professional organizations. With my background, this was easy.

I am currently a member of the National Science Teacher Association, Michigan Science Teacher

Association, and Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education. Although I haven’t

participated at levels I am historically used to, this will be easy to resume once the high workload of

graduate school lessens. I was surprised that none of the other science teachers at Battle Creek Central

High School went to the MSTA conference this year. Had I been teaching Biology this year and revising

lesson materials instead of creating them for Earth Science, I’d have gone. Next year I will. They are fun

and rejuvenating. I was lucky enough that during my student internship at Lansing Eastern High School

our spring break coincided with the 50 th Annual Conference for the Environmental Education Council of

Ohio. I was on their board for six years and am currently a life member, so I attended the event outside

Columbus, Ohio on April 7-9th, 2017.

I’ve always viewed professional development as something that has happened at conferences and

workshop. Because of the readings in TE 872: Teachers as Teacher Educators, I’ve come to understand

that the education field changed its view of professional development now to include daily or weekly

improvement efforts (Artifact 5 – Commonplace Book Reflection on Professional Development). At

Battle Creek Central this year then I had been going through professional development every Tuesday as

we met in grade level groupings for thirty minutes then switched over to subject area groups for 30

minutes. Eager to move into a more accomplished role, next year I plan to take a leadership role with

our Earth Science PLC. This artifact, the current BCCHS Tuesday PLC time, and my attendance at EECO’s

50th Annual conference demonstrate my active participation in and new understanding of what

professional development now means. In addition, these same pieces of evidence show that I am
meeting MATC Goal 3: Collaborative Professional Development, Teacher Leadership, Contributions to the

Field. Driving to Columbus, Ohio on my internship spring break hopefully shows my level of dedication

to participate in professional networks to enhance both my learning and that of my students.

In consideration of Program Standard 5: Communication skills and information literacy, I would offer my

final artifact showing evidence of effort to enhance my professional understanding and improve my

practice by becoming more literate. In TE 803: Professional Roles and Teaching Practice we concluded

the spring semester’s assignment with a professional development plan (Artifact 6 – Professional

Development Plan). Although I was concurrently enrolled in TE 843: Secondary Reading Assessment and

Instruction, and three science classes (Geology, Astronomy, and Meteorology) to secure my Integrated

Science (DI) certification, I was an active participant in the Albion-Marshall Resilient Communities

Project. As participant I read Debby Irving’s “Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race”

then participated in two book discussion, attended a presentation on the history of racism, and watched

the discussed the film “Traces of the Trade.” Independently then last summer I additionally read “White

Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son” by Tim Wise and “Between the World and Me” by

Ta-Nehisi Coates. This summer I have completed “Other People’s Children, Cultural Conflict in the

Classroom” by Lisa Delpit; “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by

Michelle Alexander; and “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas. In all these efforts, I was striving to meet

MATC Goal 1: Critical Inquiry. Because of my dominant group positionality and background, I consider it

essential to have, as goal 1 states, “deep, sustained reflection and reexamination of one’s beliefs, values,

and practices.” Beyond this, I think this artifact and connected experiences also suggests meeting MATC

Goal 3: Collaborative Professional Development, Teacher Leadership, Contributions to the Field. While I

understand that the goal may be based on teacher colleagues, I feel that the term colleague can be

considered more broadly in my context to include local community members who are working towards

equity.
The last two years have been the most intense learning period of my life. As a Learner, this has been

extremely rewarding. As an Achiever, it has also been exceedingly frustrating at times. During some

of the program, because of the demands, it was difficult to see beyond the frustrating portions.

Now, in hindsight, I only say that because I recognize the magnitude of the task before me. I am a

well-started beginner. But to truly live into the MATC Program Standards and Goals, it will take the

rest of my career to become a “thoughtful, accomplished teacher.”

To borrow from a writer in my former career area – author and conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote

“We shall never achieve harmony with the land, anymore than we shall achieve absolute justice or

liberty for people. In these higher aspirations the important thing is not to achieve but to strive.”

That’s the way I view my future - striving to become the thoughtful, accomplished teacher that I

have always dreamed.