The Park et al. article really resonated with me this week since it was talking about first year teachers and the situations that they are going through. In thinking back to graduation, I remember thinking about how I would be able to bring all of these new ideas and teaching techniques to whatever school I ended up in, but I am not realizing that it is much easier said than done. There are two chemistry teacher, me and one that is going to retire very soon. Just as the participants in this research study found, it is difficult to make these changes when there is a standard or traditional style of teaching already in place. For me this article was a chance to see how other first year teachers a working in the classroom and what they are experiencing. It was interesting to see that Cora, the ‘best’ example from the article, saying that she felt more confident in her second year than in the first, which shows me that it will get better.
I also found the section on Nancy’s teaching to be an interesting component to this paper. Park et al. mentioned that she had a mentor teacher who was very helpful by proving her lesson information and labs. The mentor teacher that I have is not in the chemistry field which means that I am not able to get support on the chemistry material or the laboratory equipment from her. The other chemistry teacher I feel is going to retire soon, so that could be why he was not assigned as my mentor. For whatever the reason, the materials that I have is what was left from the teacher before it. I am grateful for it, but it would be nice to have a person connected with it. However, by creating my own format for the class, I am able to enact some of the techniques that I learned while getting my bachelor’s degree.
Over all, this article was informative as to how others view their first year of teaching and how they perceive an individual’s learning success in their class. Park et al. were certainly making the point that by involving the students in the classroom and encouraging them to communicate to the teacher as well as their peers; they are going to learn more than if it was a straight lecture format. One thing that I strongly disagreed with in this article was when the authors discussed Ralph’s learning and learner role, he said that he intentionally call on students who he thought would get a question wrong so that he could use it as a teachable moment. This annoyed me. I understand the importance of taking advantage of correcting misconceptions and further explaining an idea, but to intentionally call on these students seemed a bit too far for me. This was not address much in the paper, but I have to wonder about the level of learning that those students receive. Misconceptions need to be addressed, but I do not agree with the way that Ralph was doing so.
In the Rivero et al article, they talked about how teachers have learned. Going through school we all received an education and now that we are going back into the classroom with new information that we want to share, it is not fully embraced by our colleagues who are set in their teaching ways. Rivero et al (2010) state that “prospective teachers end up teaching as they themselves were taught, and in practice are fairly impermeable to innovative ideas” (p. 4 in PDF). I feel that this could be a road that leads to nowhere because everyone gets stuck in the same rut for their entire teaching career. It is essential that education students learn as many teaching techniques as they can so that they are then able to teach in the way that’s suits their style the best as well as their theory on learning. In fact, Rivero et al. (2010) admit that “the data obtained in the present study confirm that change in teachers’ ideas and practices are a slow and arduous process” (p. 24 of PDF). With this in mind, in the Lopes et al. article (2010), they talk about teachers making some changes to their teaching techniques based on the information that is being covered. It is important to understand that this is different than what Rivero et al. were discussing but still very important. Teachers need to be able to adapt to how certain lessons need to be addressed. In a chemistry class, a simple example would be the behavior in lab and the behavior in the classroom. There is a much higher level of danger in the lab so it is important to have a serious attitude. Labs should be enjoyable, but students need to recognize the potential dangers.
For me these articles were practical for us to read as we are in or about to enter classrooms. It is also important because as we think toward our theory of learning, these are components that may be considered or included in our final product.
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I agree with you I think the Ralph’s example went too far. I think by calling on the students that are struggling with a topic it harms all the students in the class. The “good” students will show a decrease in self efficacy because why try when it seems the answers you have don’t matter, and the “bad” students will have an even bigger drop by always feeling like a failure. I think there is much better ways to deal with misconceptions.
I also agree that having a good mentor teacher may be a very useful tool for first year teachers. Sorry to hear that you really don’t have anyone. Maybe you could find someone in one of your classes that could help you with the Chemistry related topics. On the same note do you think that having a mentor teacher that is very set on old teaching techniques would be detrimental? At least with you not having anyone you have a little more leeway in your teaching style.