Wrap it Up

This course has been a good refresher for me. Many of the things we covered were discussed in my pre-service program. It was a great reminder because it is easy to get into a routine of assessing and the type of activities I assign. I need to start varying my instructional strategies more frequently that I currently do. I know that my mathematics students would appreciate it. It should be apart of good teaching practice and I feel that I do an okay job of this on my assessments but should try to do a better job of this with informal assessments, mostly homework. I do run into difficulty when students need the concept for a higher leveled concept because they do need practice and I need to ensure that they have a firm understanding of the material. This class has inspired me to look at my curriculum to see when i could integrate more student-directed learning opportunities. A fine summer goal.

Professional Development

Ongoing professional development is essential for sustaining professional growth. Teachers need to stay on-top of technologies and techniques to create better lessons to engage their students with. We do not conduct our daily lives as we did 5 years ago, nor should we be doing the same with our teaching practices. I feel it is important to belong to a professional organization such as the Wisconsin Math Council and NCTM. These organizations provide professional development, both locally and nationally. They are also great communicators of information. With my membership to NCTM, I am subscribed to a professional journal which allows me to get ideas to incorporate into the classroom. Professional development does not need to mean going to weekend long conferences, while Green Lake is a blast, it can be as simple as searching on-line and seeing what is out there. I also find it helpful to have meaningful discussions with colleagues and because we have a common office, this is frequently done. Teachers need to make a concerted effort to stay current with the times, as difficult and uncomfortable as it may be at times. If I continue to do this, I feel that I will stay "professionally young," but with more wisdom. :)