Next Steps In Learning
Just because I am wrapping up my master’s degree, that does not mean I am a master at all things teaching. I find that the more I learn the more new opportunities for learning present themselves. After reflecting on the classes I have taken and the topics that have piqued my interest, I have set some goals that will shape my future learning. Throughout the next few years I hope to grow in knowledge of how to incorporate AI into my teaching, increase student collaboration in the virtual environment, and help students to decrease their math anxiety as they develop confidence as a math student. As I continue to learn and grow I hope to deepen the knowledge and skills required to improve my practice as a teacher. Here is a look into my goals to deepen my learning.
Deepen and apply knowledge of AI best Practice for student use.
Artificial Intelligence is the technology of today. Over the past couple of years I have been learning with technology and utilizing it intentionally in my classroom to create resources for my students. Just as AI has enhanced teaching, it also has an impact on how students are learning. While we could try to hide from it, AI is shaping our student’s lives now and will impact their future careers.
It is not realistic to avoid AI. That being said, in order for me to effectively integrate it into my classroom I need to learn about how to best integrate AI technology for student use. I need to learn what tools are available and what best practice is in regards to AI. As AI is constantly changing so is the research. AI for Education has many resources to explore on the integration of teaching and technology.
It is not enough for me to use AI, but I have to be intentional about how students can learn and grow by using AI purposely to deepen critical thinking. In the future our current students will be asked to use artificial intelligence. I need to help students prepare for this future. Future-Ready: Teaching with AI by Blackwelder and Cowley is one resource I found that addresses this. Ultimately, I need to learn more about the integration of AI in math education and how to support my students learning about how to embrace these tools responsibly to deepen their educational experience.
Integrate knowledge of online learning and student collaboration to enhance virtual learning.
As a virtual math teacher I have found that adapting current best practice into my teaching is not always straight forward. I am working at the intersection of math best practice and that for online teaching. While I have seen the many benefits of online learning it often requires a creative approach to teaching.
Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl has been a popular resource in the math community. This focuses on the students engaging in their learning through collaboration and developing problem solving skills. While I have read this book I still struggle with how to integrate many of these concepts in the virtual classroom. I would love to do deeper research into the integration of these skills into a virtual environment. I need to learn what tools are available for digital collaboration and how to navigate the technology to achieve that goal.
In my preliminary research I found Visible Learning for Mathematics by John Hattie. This book focuses on the learning of math rather then the teaching. I hope that by focusing on how students learn math I can better see what I need to apply into my classroom. I will also need to do some more specific research into online teaching and the integration of strategies through a screen.
Create math instruction that is responsive to math trauma and fixed mindset.
By middle school I find many of my students already don’t like math or are not good at math. Unfortunately. Math trauma starts at a young age and convinces students they can’t do math. One book I found on this is Math Therapy by Jo Boler. While my goal is not to make every student fall in love with the subject I do hope to help my students see themselves as students capable of doing math. In order to do this I need to learn what causes math trauma and what I can do to change the mindset or at least not add to the trauma.
Many of my students dislike math because they think it is hard. I would love to read Teaching 6-12 Math Intervention by Julianna Tapper in order to learn strategies to fill these gaps. I definitely have more to learn in this area but I feel the first step is to learn what my students bring into my classroom. Only then can I start to shift the mindset many students associate with math.