Domain 1 Reflection:

A classroom should be a space where students feel comfortable. High school students

spend almost five hours of each week in any given classroom. If they feel uncomfortable in the

classroom, the likelihood of shutting off is very high. A student who does not feel comfortable in

the classroom and shuts off will not engage. Learning can occur through many modes of

exposure—but a primary factor is that a basal level of engagement needs to be present for

learning to occur. The more pieces of the brain interacting with the new subject matter, the more

likely it is for long-term memory to occur (Ormrod, 2015). Psychologists are constantly debating

exactly how new information gets stored into the brain, but it has been found that emotional

connection, relatability, and applicability are all factors that help students retain information

easier (Ormrod, 2015).

As a teacher, I constantly remind myself that my students are human beings and they

deserve to be treated with the same basic human rights that we all want. They are equally

deserving of love, respect and a voice. There are many power dynamics going on at a school. I

remind myself that every role of power comes with the responsibility to speak for those you have

authority over. In many ways, it is the responsibility of my students to adhere to my classroom

authority. However, this comes with the responsibility of using my position wisely. I am a voice

for my students, set to navigate the space so that each student is able to learn at their greatest

potential. My position is one of leadership in modeling how to respect. Most requests students

pose are reasonable; however, they can often interfere with another students’ ability to learn. As

a teacher, I take it upon myself to remind my students that we are all in charge of the culture we

produce in the classroom. We want that culture to be inclusive of all of its members. Anything

we do to diminish someone else’s learning environment is not showing respect and value of that
individual. This includes someone’s sense of belonging within their own ethnicity, race,

language, culture, gender and ability.

My goal as a teacher is to see each of my students leave my classroom with a deeper

understanding of scientific thinking. I constantly stress the importance of critical thinking as a

skill that will aid them in much more than just a scientific career. As a Chemistry teacher, I make

sure that students leave understanding the basics of the chemical world—that electrons drive

atomic interactions, and as a result, everything about the world we know. Not only do I want

students to leave cognizant of the infinite reactions happening around and inside of them, but I

want them to learn the skills necessary to inquire more deeply into scientific ideas. Re-surfacing

our natural wonder of science can help us open the doors to inquiry. My students are encouraged

to ask unlimited questions, and then taught skills to go out and research the answers to their

questions. Maybe the answer is as simple as a google search away. Or maybe no one knows the

answer, and they can design a simple experiment at home to figure it out.

My desire is to close the gap on the ambiguity of scientific research. My students should

know that anyone who pursues answers to their questions is a researcher. I want them to leave

with an awareness of how these research skills can help them analyze data collected in many

different research fields—political, psychological, medical, or social. In order to engage students

in this type of inquiry based learning, I make sure to frame my lessons around a real-life scenario

(Walker, 2011). I also try to give metaphorical examples of real life situations that will help

students connect with the content better (Strong, 2003).

Within the modern system of education, it is difficult to move away from a rewards-

based learning model. I grade daily work and homework for effort—truly looking to see that

students are attempting to solve problems and giving them feedback on where their thought
processes may have led them astray. My goal is to design tests that will require students to piece

information together and use scientific thought. These tests may be in a traditional written

format, or they may be in a research project format. The goal is to assess that students can apply

the scientific concepts we are learning in class into a design of a relevant experiment.

In order to make sure that students are acquiring these scientific thinking patterns, I try to

demonstrate them in our warm up problems, and I begin by scaffolding inquiry projects until

students demonstrate growth in developing their own projects (Hmelo-Silver, 2013). Another

way I work to help my students develop into strong adults is to help them work through whatever

individual struggles are keeping them from learning. I remind them that challenges do not mean

we should stop trying to grow in life, but that we need to find a healthy way to deal with our

challenges in order to be a contributing member of society.

In order to help students develop into the kind of people they want to become, I survey

them to gather as much information about their lives as I can. Sometimes I might give them a

formal, written survey. Other times I just like to throw out questions to the students and take

some notes about what they value. I want to stay cognizant that I am not teaching them to turn

their backs on their cultures by a goal or aim I suggest for them, but that they are aspiring to a

lifestyle that fits in with their cultures. I also try to use culturally relevant material where

accessible by looking for videos they can connect to or doing research projects on prominent

scientists that come from similar backgrounds as they do.

As a beginning teacher, there is a lot of room for growth. Even though I have a good idea

of the kind of classroom I want to develop, I am open to the thoughts and ideas of teachers

around me. I ask those around me as many questions as I can to build a stronger curriculum that

will be the most effective with my students. Teacher-teacher interactions are one of the best ways
to grow. Currently, I am finishing a masters program that continues to bring new information and

teaching strategies to my attention. This is a time of experimenting and learning what works with

my students so that I can build a strong foundation for what is to come in the future.

References:

Hmelo-Silver, C., Duncan, R., & Chinn, C. (2007). Scaffolding and Achievement in Problem-Based and

Inquiry Learning: A Response to Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006). Educational

Psychologist, 42(2), 99-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00461520701263368

Ormrod, J. (2015). Human Learning + Pearson Etext Access Card (7th ed.). Pearson College

Div.

Strong, R., Silver, H., Perini, M., & Tuculescu, G. (2003). Boredom and Its Opposite. Educational

Leadership, 24-29.

Walker, J. P., Sampson, V., & Zimmerman, C. O. (2011, June 21). Argument-Driven Inquiry: An

Introduction to a New Instructional Model for Use in Undergraduate Chemistry Labs.

Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ed100622h