RAPS #4: Nemoiies of a Teachei

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!"#$% Beathei Piatt

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Instiuctional Stiategies

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Peifoimance Inuicatois: 8(a): The teachei uses appiopiiate stiategies anu iesouices
to auapt instiuction to the neeus of inuiviuuals anu gioups of leaineis.

Peifoimance Inuicatois: 8(b) The teachei continuously monitois stuuent leaining,
engages leaineis in assessing theii piogiess, anu aujusts instiuction in iesponse to
stuuent leaining neeus.

Peifoimance Inuicatois: 8(c) The teachei collaboiates with leaineis to uesign anu
implement ielevant leaining expeiiences, iuentify theii stiengths, anu access family anu
community iesouices to uevelop theii aieas of inteiest.

Peifoimance Inuicatois: 8(u) The teachei vaiies hishei iole in the instiuctional
piocess (e.g., instiuctoi, facilitatoi, coach, auuience) in ielation to the content anu
puiposes of instiuction anu the neeus of leaineis.

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Peifoimance Inuicatois: 8(f) The teachei engages all leaineis in ueveloping highei
oiuei questioning skills anu metacognitive piocesses.

Peifoimance Inuicatois: 8(g) The teachei engages leaineis in using a iange of
leaining skills anu technology tools to access, inteipiet, evaluate, anu apply
infoimation.

Peifoimance Inuicatois: 8(h) The teachei uses a vaiiety of instiuctional stiategies
to suppoit anu expanu leaineis' communication thiough speaking, listening, ieauing,
wiiting, anu othei moues.

Peifoimance Inuicatois: 8(i) The teachei asks questions to stimulate uiscussion that
seives uiffeient puiposes (e.g., piobing foi leainei unueistanuing, helping leaineis
aiticulate theii iueas anu thinking piocesses, stimulating cuiiosity, anu
helping leaineis to question).

Essential Knowleuge 8(j) The teachei unueistanus the cognitive piocesses associateu
with vaiious kinus of leaining (e.g., ciitical anu cieative thinking, pioblem fiaming anu
pioblem solving, invention, memoiization anu iecall) anu how these piocesses can be
stimulateu.

Essential Knowleuge 8(k) The teachei knows how to apply a iange of uevelopmentally,
cultuially, anu linguistically appiopiiate instiuctional stiategies to achieve leaining
goals.

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Essential Knowleuge 8(m) The teachei unueistanus how multiple foims of
communication (oial, wiitten, nonveibal, uigital, visual) convey iueas, fostei self
expiession, anu builu ielationships.

Essential Knowleuge 8(n) The teachei knows how to use a wiue vaiiety of iesouices,
incluuing human anu technological, to engage stuuents in leaining.

Essential Knowleuge 8(o) The teachei unueistanus how content anu skill uevelopment
can be suppoiteu by meuia anu technology anu knows how to evaluate these iesouices
foi quality, accuiacy, anu effectiveness.

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Ciitical Bispositions 8(q) The teachei values the vaiiety of ways people communicate
anu encouiages leaineis to uevelop anu use multiple foims of communication.

Ciitical Bispositions 8(i) The teachei is committeu to exploiing how the use of new
anu emeiging technologies can suppoit anu piomote stuuent leaining.

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This activity is a ieflection on one of my favoiite anu most effective teacheis, Nis.
Bannigan. She was my high school math teachei foi S yeais. Even though Nath was
my toughest subject anu the subject I enjoyeu the least, I thoioughly enjoyeu
Algebia anu piecalculus with Nis. Bannigan, anu I maue some of my fonuest high
school memoiies in hei classioom. In this papei, I will uesciibe some of my
memoiies fiom hei class anu connect these memoiies to ieseaich on effective
teaching. By explaining anu examining these connections, I hope to bettei giasp the
stiategies Ns. Bannigan useu to make my classioom expeiience a memoiable one,
anu implement these stiategies into my own teaching.

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Nis. Bannigan is by fai the most memoiable anu effective teachei that I have
evei hau. While it is haiu to naiiow uown exactly what makes hei so memoiable, I
think that Nis. Bannigan uiu thiee things to be an effective teachei: she cieateu a
safe classioom enviionment foi all of hei stuuents, she woik haiu to vaiy hei
instiuctional stiategies, anu she consistently expiesseu caie anu concein foi hei
stuuents.
Nis. Bannigan's classioom enviionment was open, fun, anu welcoming.
When I walkeu into hei class as a high school stuuent, I was gieeteu with biight anu
encouiaging posteis that saiu things like "NATB IS F0N!" anu "Be Rational, uet
Real!" Nis. Bannigan always stoou by hei uesk oi neai the uooi to gieet us as we
walkeu into hei classioom. She maue an effoit to give a sunny "hello!" to eveiyone
who aiiiveu, even if she was cleaily stiesseu. Nis. Bannigan hau faiily stiict iules
foi us, but these iules weie less about iestiicting us anu moie about ensuiing that
we hau a positive classioom climate. These iules incluueu things like "uo not speak
when someone else is speaking" anu "no put uowns." Because she was faiily vigilant
about enfoicing these iules anu because she moueleu iespectful behavioi towaius
hei stuuents, we nevei hau a lot of pioblems maintaining this safe enviionment. She
gave us a lot moie fieeuom in hei classes than othei teacheis uiu, which I think
maue us iespect hei moie because we knew that she tiusteu us. She woulu let us sit
in uiffeient places to uo math pioblems if we wanteu to anu she was willing to be
flexible with hei lesson plans if we wanteu to continue woiking on a specific
pioblem as a class. All of these things contiibuteu to the enviionment of tiust anu
iespect that I enjoyeu in hei class.
Auuitionally, Nis. Bannigan also woikeu haiu to vaiy hei instiuctional
stiategies. This was especially helpful to me, since I am much bettei at wiiting anu
ieauing than I am at completing math equations. Sometimes, she woulu let me wiite
out my homewoik answeis in paiagiaph foim, iathei than uo the equations all on
papei with symbols. While we hau iegulai tests anu quizzes, she always woikeu
haiu to help us piepaie foi these in a vaiiety of ways. We woulu play "math
jeopaiuy" anu she woulu play the jeopaiuy music to make it feel like the ieal show.
This was not only fun, but it also helpeu us piepaie foi tests anu quizzes, anu it was
a gieat bieak fiom sitting uown anu ieviewing pioblems on oui own. Nis. Bannigan
woulu come up with silly pneumonic uevices to help us iemembei the oiuei of
opeiations anu she woulu even make up songs about fiactions. 0ne time, she ieau
us a pictuie book calleu !"# %&'()#)*+) ,( -", which was about this little boy who hau
to finu the ciicumfeience of pi. This book helpeu me unueistanu the concept a lot
bettei because it was fun anu appealeu to my moie liteiaiy-minueu self. Nis.
Bannigan also tiieu to ciaft inteiesting anu unique woiu pioblems anu equations. I
viviuly iemembei one class when she began by playing the song, "Seasons of Love,"
fiom the musical, ./012 We listeneu intently to the lyiics anu then tiieu to measuie
"a yeai of love." Although it was neaily impossible to measuie, we piacticeu using
equations anu fiactions to come up with uiffeient answeis, anu weie theiefoie, able
to piactice the skills that Nis. Bannigan wanteu us to gain fiom the lesson.
Asiue fiom vaiying the way in which she piepaieu us foi tests, Nis.
Bannigan also vaiieu the ways that she assesseu us. We hau a faii amount of papeis,
piesentations, anu piojects in auuition to stanuaiu quizzes anu tests. Ny favoiite
piesentation was a piesentation I uiu on "Pi Bay." I gave a talk on the histoiy of pi
uay anu then I seiveu eveiyone pie! It was a gieat way foi me to show knowleuge in
a cieative way, anu it alloweu me to feel moie confiuent in the math classioom,
since I usually uiu not faie as well on tests anu quizzes. When we uiu have quizzes
anu tests, Nis. Bannigan always alloweu stuuents extia time to complete them anu
she gianteu A L0T of paitial cieuit to us. She also alloweu us to eain paitial cieuit
back if we coiiecteu the pioblems that we got wiong aftei she passeu the tests back.
I was a faiily anxious kiu anu knowing that I coulu eain paitial cieuit anu make up
points with test coiiections helpeu ease my anxiety going into the exam. Because
Nis. Bannigan vaiieu hei instiuctional stiategies anu assessments, I was able to
unueistanu concepts bettei, anu consequently, founu moie success in hei class than
I hau in pievious math classes.
Finally, Nis. Bannigan was an effective teachei because she expiesseu caie
anu compassion foi hei community anu foi hei stuuents. Nis. Bannigan put a lot of
woik into hei ielationships at my school, whethei it was with hei stuuents oi with
hei colleagues. She tiieu to go to a lot of hei stuuents' spoiting events anu she was
always in attenuance at plays anu conceits. This is especially astounuing
consiueiing that she liveu 4S minutes away fiom oui school. When my Bau got sick
uuiing my sophomoie yeai, she checkeu in on me to make suie that I was okay anu
she offeieu to give me extensions on my woik. When a classmate of mine became
piegnant anu got kickeu out of hei paient's house uuiing oui senioi yeai, Nis.
Bannigan woikeu veiy haiu to accommouate hei anu woik with hei aftei school to
keep hei caught up. I iemembei the uay my classmate tolu Nis. Bannigan that she
woulu have to leave school (this was a few months befoie giauuation) because she
coulu not go to school anu woik (to pay hei ient) at the same time. Nis. Bannigan
teaieu up anu offeieu to tutoi hei oi uo anything that she coulu to keep the stuuent
in school. While this was a veiy sau situation, Nis. Bannigan's effoits to help the giil
anu the unueistanuing that she showeu the stuuent illustiate how much Nis.
Bannigan caieu about hei stuuents. 0ne of my fonuest memoiies of Nis. Bannigan
is listening to hei ieau 34 54) -67+)8 9,& :"66 ;, to us uuiing oui last math class. We
all ciieu! All of these examples not only illustiate Nis. Bannigan's compassionate
spiiit, but also piove that she chose to shaie this compassion with hei stuuents,
even if it meant putting in moie woik than she hau to.

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Accoiuing to Chaptei 11 in oui textbook, effective teacheis "caiefully manage
theii classiooms to minimize uistuibances, pioviue stuuents with a sense of
confiuence anu secuiity, anu make suie that instiuction can pioceeu efficiently"
(S91). As I saiu in my aitifact, Nis. Bannigan manageu my class by making it cleai
what the iules weie at the beginning of the yeai. She baseu hei iules on iespect anu
kinuness, anu she maue it cleai what the consequences woulu be if we uisobeyeu
these iules, which pioviueu us with a sense of secuiity. This also helpeu us uevelop
a classioom climate wheie it was okay to make mistakes, since we knew no one
woulu make fun of us oi laugh. As oui textbook states, this soit of nonjuugmental
enviionment is essential to stuuent leaining (4u2). I want to cieate this
enviionment in my own classioom by establishing iules that focus on iespect anu
encouiaging my stuuents to take owneiship of the classioom iules by incluuing
them in the iule-making piocess.
Nis. Bannigan also excelleu at euucating anu assessing us in uiffeient ways,
which is anothei tenet of effective teaching. As oui textbooks states, vaiying
instiuction not only pievents boieuom, it also "accommouates uiffeient leaining
styles" (4uS). Nis. Bannigan always connecteu class activities to the content being
leaineu. Foi example, befoie we ieau the pictuie book, !"# %&'()#)*+) ,( -", she
explaineu that we woulu be leaining that specific equation anu piacticing applying
the equation to pioblems uuiing the class peiiou. She maue it cleai that she was
ieauing the book to intiouuce the equations anu the uiffeient uses foi the equations.
This alloweu us to unueistanu WBY we weie uoing what we weie uoing anu what
the outcomes of the activity shoulu be, which is impoitant foi optimal leaining. In
the futuie, I want to mouel this soit of teaching by pioviuing cleai instiuctions anu
connecting activities with content.
In teims of mouels of instiuction, Nis. Bannigan uiu a sounu job vaiying the
uiffeient mouels she useu. Some uays she woulu piactice uiiect teaching, wheie she
woulu piesent us with a new equation oi concept, show us some examples
pioblems, ask us to complete pioblems on the boaiu, anu then assign us pioblems
to complete inuepenuently. 0thei uays we woulu piactice coopeiative leaining anu
woik in gioups. Ny favoiite class peiious weie when we engageu in pioblem-baseu
leaining, since I was (anu continue to be) inteiesteu in the ieal-woilu applications
anu political iamification of oui leaining. This pioves to me that I neeu to be suie to
piactice uiffeient mouels of instiuction in my classioom to appeal to all leaineis.
Finally, Nis. Bannigan woikeu veiy haiu to iecognize the uiffeient ways in
which hei stuuents leain anu offeieu uiffeientiateu foims of instiuctions anu
assessment. She "oiganizeu hei lessons aiounu stuuent neeus iathei than content,"
which I illustiateu when I uiscusseu how she let me wiite out my answeis to
pioblems in paiagiaph foim iathei than iecoiu it tiauitionally with symbols (411).
This suggests to me that I neeu to be suie to get to know my stuuents well enough to
be able to catei my instiuctionexpectations to theii leaining neeus.

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Ny aitifact pioves that I unueistanu the stanuaiu because it shows that I can appieciate
anu iecognize when teacheis (in this case, Nis. Bannigan) successfully vaiy teaching
mouels anu piactice uiffeientiateu instiuction to explain concepts anu skills. Ny aitifact
also shows that I unueistanu how vaiying teaching mouels anu uiffeientiating
instiuction helps stuuents leain moie effectively, since I uesciibe how these teaching
techniques helpeu me uo well in Nis. Bannigan's class.

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By ieflecting on how Nis. Bannigan's use of uiffeientiateu instiuction enhanceu my
leaining, I piove that I unueistanu the stanuaiu by showing that I iecognize how anu
when it is appiopiiate to uiffeientiate instiuction.

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Wiiting this ieflection enhanceu my commitment to unueistanuing the stiengths anu
neeus of my stuuents, anu applying this knowleuge when planning instiuction. I
illustiate this when I uiscuss how Nis. Bannigans's use of uiffeientiateu instiuction
helpeu me, anu how I believe I coulu use this stiategy to help my own stuuents.

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By wiiting about how much I valueu Nis. Bannigan's flexibility anu iecipiocity in the
teaching piocess, I illustiate that this is a ciitical uisposition of mine as a teachei.

Woiks Citeu:

Saukei, Baviu Nillei, anu Kaien R. Zittleman. 1)7+4)#8< !+4,,68< 7*= !,+")5>? @ A#")(
B*5#,=&+5",* 5, /=&+75",*. Boston, NA: Ncuiaw-Bill, 2uu7. Piint.