At the end of November, all of the high school and middle school math teachers had the opportunity to attend the NCTM Regional Conference in Seattle.
This conference gave us the opportunity to join with other teachers from around the area in a series of sessions focusing on teaching math in the classroom.
Being new to teaching, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this conference.
But, from past experiences of being around other teachers talking about teaching, I expected to leave feeling like a sub-par teacher.
At these kind of things, teachers talk about the amazing and modern and innovative things that they are doing in their classrooms.
Being a new teacher, this leaves me feeling a little defeated, wondering how I’m supposed to do all of that amazingness in my classroom.
But, on day one, Jill talked with us about not feeling that way. About going into this conference with an open mind, and a willingness to see the greatness in what others are doing, and try to figure out how we can start to incorporate that into our practices.
The key word here being “start”.
Often, when I hear about math teachers having a project-based learning class, I think to myself, “that’s great, but how can I go from complete direct instruction, to completely handing over the learning to the students?”
But, the very first session that I went to changed my perspective.
This session was led by an incredible woman! She is a high school math teacher who is doing great things in her classroom.
But what I appreciated about her presentation, was that she talked about how she started to incorporate these little activities into her day-to-day lessons.
She didn’t say that you couldn’t do direct instruction anymore.
YAY! I personally think that some direct instruction in a math class is extremely vital.
She continued to talk with us about these activities, and had us participate in some of them as well.
It was really refreshing to hear from someone who was real and authentic. She showed us how we can start to work towards project-based learning by dipping our toes in the water, not taking a nose dive.
Overall, the rest of the conference went well, but this first session is the one that I will remember for a very very long time.
She gave me a glimpse into what the future of my classroom can be.
I completely agree that direct instruction doesn't have to go away. In fact, there's research to support the value of direct instruction. There are times where you just have to sit down with a group of students and walk them through it.
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate someone who can break down how to start jumping into something because it really is scary. The big picture is overwhelming, so seeing someone who can explain what the first step can be always helps. Thanks for sharing!