Who was your favorite teacher?
This question used to scare me. Haunt me really. What am I supposed to say? Surely, my friends would laugh if I told them I loved my Chemistry teacher, no one can relate to that. The shackles of maintaining some dumb made-up social reputation always limited what I said about my teachers. Only until now, as a college senior education major, I can proudly shout from the rooftops that I loved my science teacher. She did something that other teachers seldom did; fed my curiosity.
But wait…
Science is supposed to be awful.
FALSE. Science is a fun and it’s how we interpret the wonderful world and universe we live on and in. But what made me so fascinated, why do I like this subject so much? As a student becoming some other student’s teacher, I now know what my science teacher was doing right.
She:
- Inquired Students
- Provoked Critical Thinking
- Offered Various ways to engage students
And what is this?
It’s a lot of things jumbled into a simple term.
She exemplary taught…
Scratch that…
She exhibited Exemplary Teaching.
- Inquiring students gets them super engaged, and when looking back at the times I had in Mrs. Rettig’s Chemistry class I’m sure she thought along the same lines as Michael Stevens from this Ted Talk.
“One of the best ways to gain attentive listeners, is not to be who you think your audience wants you to be, but instead to say and make and show things that allow your audience or, your students, to be who they want to be” -Michael Stevens
- Critical thinking is essential to understanding a topic. Science should be the epitome of critically thinking about the world around you, however, some science students probably experience the exact opposite, an easy, busy-work driven A. How can we inspire critical thinking and make sure we’re not the latter? This video brings up a really cool point, we can’t learn if we’re convinced we know it already.
I think this video actually shows us as teachers to come into classrooms also having an open, setting the example to critically think will set the precedent for our students to follow.
- Differentiated instruction also goes hand in hand with exemplary teaching. Differentiated instrcution is the individualized approach to give students more of a range of options for class projects, papers, and/or presentations.
- Some common Pros of Differentiated Instruction:
- Lets not only the student’s be creative, but the teachers as well
- Allows for flexibility with assignments
- Each student can follow their unique learning style
- Each student develops an interest and individualized learning experience
- Some Cons of Differentiated Instruction:
- Could make a seemingly second full time job for the teacher
- is hard to gauge effectiveness empirically.
- Some common Pros of Differentiated Instruction:
At the end of the day, we have to go set the bar high for our peers and for our students, by making that first leap and becoming that exemplary teacher. Through inquiry, inspiring critical thinking, and incorporating differentiated instruction, we definitely start the process of becoming an exemplary teacher.
https://twitter.com/WyattBischoff/status/1039534309319815168
I really like the point you were making about having an open mind even as a teacher still. I think it’s important to remember that you can learn a lot of valuable information from your students too, and if you set the example of asking questions and acknowledging that you don’t have all the answers, your students will feel comfortable asking questions. I liked how in the second video the speaker made the point about thinking like a 4-year-old and just keep asking why. I think that’s very important for a science classroom. What are some of the ways that your teacher incorporated inquiry, provoked critical thinking, or differentiated her lessons?
Hello Whyatt,
I absolutely love the Monster’s Inc. theme! That is one of my favorite movies. I also like how you bring up differentiated instruction! It brings me back to my work in educational psychology. I agree that it is very important. Going that extra mile relates to differentiated instruction because, even though it makes it harder for the teacher, it focuses on the student’s needs and how to be assess them through projects, presentations, writing, etc. I think that the amount of work a teacher must do to make this possible should be put on the back burner. It should be forgotten. Teaching is going to be hard and we have to be prepared. Making a student’s life at school and fostering their love of learning is always the reward and that should not be forgotten. It goes back to exemplary science teaching. You make things student-centered to allow them to grow and learn. You put your needs aside and focus on the needs of your students. This is what I want to do as a teacher. I want to focus on and cater to the needs of everyone in the classroom. this makes school more enjoyable. I really liked the videos and how they explain ways to become an exemplary science teacher. I especially like the TED talks one. That is my favorite channel on Youtube. The only thing I would suggest to put in your post is short lesson plans that can be used in the classroom. What science are you wanting to teach? I am biology and chemistry. I also want to teach zoology or veterinary science one day. Overall, great post! I love the points you make and how you tie everything together at the end!
Delaina 🙂
First I want to start by saying I love the Monsters Inc. theme. I also really enjoyed the ted talk and how you took a quote straight out of the talk and made it one of your main points. I like the compare and contrast section as well! Do you think that your chemistry teacher did everything she could to be an exemplary teacher or do you think she could’ve did more? Great job!
Thank you so much on your compliments! Means a lot. I do think, as with anyone, that teachers could always improve. I left this out of the article because I was still thinking about it, but I definitely both respected her ability to put herself in the classroom, but I think her personal standpoints influenced her too much. What I mean by this is she was pretty vocal about her stances on public issues and sometimes, myself included, I think it made students feel as though their contradictory opinion didn’t matter.
I really like your blog! Starting it with a question gets the reader thinking before they even begin to read your blog, which I think is important. I also like how you sort of have a theme of Monsters Inc., it adds personality to the blog. I also like the TED talk that you included, I think it fits in nicely with your blog! If I could give you any suggestions, it would be to maybe include an example of a specific lesson/activity that exhibits exemplary teaching. Maybe include something your chemistry teacher did that made that class memorable? But overall, I really enjoyed reading your blog!!
Thank you so much! Yeah I definitely should’ve included what a lesson looks like with an exemplary teacher leading the classroom. I also think almost her entire class was memorable, she was constantly moving about the classroom, showing us things like sublimation, crystallization, heck even staring a fire with flint. She was one of those people you remember as being an amazing teacher but it’s to pick one example, ya feel?