Bode Week 5

          This week, actually Friday after our MSU classes, my teacher told me she was going to be observed/recorded by an Everyday Math researcher. My teacher works with Everyday Math people in the Chicago area that consists of a team of teachers, researchers, etc who work to continuously improve and teach Everyday Math more effectively for the students and teachers. Not only does my teacher get recorded doing certain “pilot” lessons but she also is a trainer for new teachers who need to learn more about math before getting into the classroom. While my teacher was being observed it was interesting to see how the students reacted to a new activity and also how my teacher feels about doing these “pilot” lessons for the Everyday Math committee, I’m not quite sure what to call it. The observer is looking for both how the teacher feels about teaching the math content and if it’s an effective activity for the students learning and also how the students react to the activity. Does it engage learning? Do students seem to be participating more or less in this activity? The researchers will take their feedback and bring it back to the Everyday Math group where they will compile and revise all the “pilot” lessons to establish a new edition of the Everyday Math textbooks and teacher books. My teacher talked with me after her lesson and told me she likes doing these “pilot” lessons not only because it helps her get new activities into her classroom but she also gets to contribute with her feedback about how she feels the lesson went and its effectiveness. She likes seeing how the students respond and that also helps her assess where students are in the unit and how they handle new activities. She admitted that there are some “pilot” lessons she doesn’t like as much but still has to do them so she describes those as a learning experience for her and her students.

            I really enjoyed watching this situation happen in the classroom because it makes me appreciate the 13 years of experience my teacher has to offer to her students and me. It shows me that even though she has been teaching for quite some time, she hasn’t lost her desire and passion to teach. My mentor teacher is always willing to try new things and learn new lessons, strategies, to better her students learning and success. This is a case of a long time teacher who still has the passion and drive to help her students succeed and learn in multiple ways. As new teachers in the school, we tend to think that we are the only ones who have the new tricks with these “fresh” new ideas. Little do we all know, and we all need to realize, that some of these teachers we are working with are quite involved in teacher education groups, professional developments, etc to better themselves as teachers for their students and themselves. It’s really kind of inspiring to see how involved my teacher is and the extent to which she goes to in order to keep herself educated and always trying new things.