Rebecca Etnyre

EDSC 591
Course Reflection Revised
The signature assignments that were completed in this course have stirred the process of
reflection both in my brain and in my heart and have truly showed me how I can take ideas and
better align them to my core values and the Core Propositions outlined in the National Board
Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). As a new teacher it is important to prioritize and
focus in on what is important each and every day that I walk into my classroom and influence the
lives of high school students. Each core assignment completed in this course closely aligned with
the NBPTS, course readings and allowed me to reflect on how to better implement these
practices in my own classroom.
The first signature assignment, the Teaching Philosophy Statement really made me focus
and strategize on what is important for both myself and my students. This allowed me to truly
reflect on how I could commit myself to my students and their learning (Proposition 1). This
assignment pulled ideas that inspired me to be a teacher by creating a plan to implement them in
my classroom each and every day. As a Mathematician, I needed to focus in on not only how my
students would learn mathematics, but how would I provide them with support to learn
mathematics effectively in a supportive environment. A reading that particularly stirred this idea
was in Chapter 2 of Learning about and Learning from Expert Teachers. One quote, in
particular that stood out to me stated, The fact is that talent for teaching is probably an
extremely complicated interaction of many human characteristics (Berliner, p.465). Teaching is
not something that is natural for me all the time since I am very mathematically minded so
devising a plan based on this interaction of my characteristics and mathematical ability through

the Teaching Philosophy Statement better allowed me to see through the eyes of not only a
mathematician, but a mathematics educator.
The second signature assignment was the Collaborative Standards Concept Map in which
we needed to marry ideas between the NBPTS and Mathematics Standards both individually and
within a group. This assignment was interesting to me because my original spiderweb map (as
my group called it) was very intertwined because I truly felt many of them were linked in
different ways. However, when I discussed this outline with my group online through the
synchronous group discussion, their ideas heavily influenced me and showed me how to better
focus in on certain standards. I often struggle with focusing on ideas because many concepts so
closely tie together in the educational world. This core assignment allowed me to better
experience a Personal Learning Network (PLN) within my subject matter, thus aligning with
Proposition 5. In addition, the focus component showed me that I knew the subject I taught but
needed to improve on how to teach those subjects to students (Proposition 2). I took key
components from the National Board website (www.nbpts.org), the CSTPs and the mathematical
content area standards (CCSS) to better improve my practices by seeing that they truly are
related to one another. I, now, will be able to plan lessons more effectively by not only looking at
the CCSS but also at how my teaching practices must be implemented to provide a better
learning environment for students.
The third signature assignment was very insightful because it stirred a lot of debate on the
discussion board forums. This was a time during the course where pros and cons must be heavily
weighted when analyzing the lesson conducted by Mr. Ormsbys seventh grade class. This topic
opened by allowing us to observe his lesson and notice certain words or activities that took place.

We then really took the time to discuss the differences between descriptive, analytic and
reflective writing styles. Most of my life I was very strong in both descriptive and analytic
writing but reflective writing was often difficult for me. This assignment pulled all three together
in the Teaching Video Analysis and allowed us to tie them together to analyze, describe, and
reflect on Mr. Ormsbys teaching styles and how we could better improve or build upon the ideas
he implemented in his classroom. This assignment supported the reading, Preparing Teachers to
learn from Teaching by Hiebert, Morris, Berk and Jansen. This article focused on the student
and how important it was to plan lessons and gauge effectiveness based on learning outcomes of
the student. I sometimes struggle with this way of measuring teacher effectiveness, but after
reading this article, watching the video several times and looking for learning outcomes, I now
can better create lessons in my own classroom to provide better learning outcomes for my
students in hopes of my teaching being more effective in the long run; thus producing better
mathematical lessons and executing them correctly (Proposition 2).
The next two signature assignments closely tie together since it had me focus on one
particular student over a substantial period of time. This assignment was truly insightful to me.
Since I studied a student that was very different than me in many ways: home, culture and
academic level, it showed me how to better implement accommodations necessary for a sheltered
ELL level one student who struggles with living a comfortable life at home. Both the Student
Case study and the Analysis of Student Work assignments showed me what it looks like to be
responsible for managing and monitoring student learning (Proposition 3). I needed to focus in
on Stephanies learning process, create a better environment for her, provide necessary
accommodations and analyze their effectiveness. This required me to think more systematically
about my practice and learn from how this was implemented (Proposition 4). Not only did I learn

a lot and open my eyes to the community in which I teach but now I can better serve those types
of students that enter my classroom each and every day.
Overall, going forward in the Graduate Program in Education, the signature assignments
in this course have showed me the level of thought, systematic planning, and reflection that must
take place to not only be effective as a graduate student but as a quality mathematics educator.
Each assignment has provided me with insight into my own teaching practices and allowed me to
focus in on the five core propositions individually. In the future, I would like to implement the
Core propositions in a seamless manner and make this a part of my everyday planning and
teaching. This class has taught me to never give up and to always reflect, plan and execute a
lesson to better serve the community and the students who enter my classroom each and every
day.

References

Berliner, D. (2002). Learning about and Learning from Expert Teachers. International Journal of
Educational Research, 35(2), 463-482.
California Common Core State Standards: Mathematics. (2013). Retrieved December 26, 2015,
from http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssmathstandardaug2013.pdf
California Standards for the Teaching Profession. (2009). Retrieved December 26, 2015, from
http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/standards/CSTP-2009.pdf
Hiebert, J. (2007). Preparing Teachers to Learn from Teaching. Journal of Teacher Education,
58(1), 47-61.
The Five Core Propositions. (n.d.). Retrieved December 26, 2015, from
http://www.boardcertifiedteachers.org/about-certification/five-core-propositions