Beliefs of Learning
Everyone deserves opportunity.
I believe that all students deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential or start on the path towards reaching their full potential. They need access to opportunities and have the freedom to choose which opportunity will best enrich their lives. This can be college, career, or military. As educators, we often value education so deeply that we do students, who would thrive going straight into career, maybe even in a specific trade, or military, a disservice by forcing them on a path that is designed to only enhance the college student. Sorry, but not everybody should go to college. If everyone should, then it would be just like K-12 and everyone would be required to… we do not require it, but students should have access to the opportunity to choose to go and be able to do well in college if they choose, as well as the other choices available post high school graduation.
There is a perception that digital learning will replace physical teachers and brick and mortar instruction. Often times, even those physical teachers will use technology to replace them “to make their jobs easier” but there is no substitute for interpersonal interaction and 21st century skills such as collaboration and communication. One of many things that technology can do is clone a teacher's direct instruction or supplement a teacher’s support. If a teacher requires a student to learn how to solve problems from examples in a video, they need structures in place to ensure students are engaged in the video instruction and determine the effectiveness of that instruction through other means, answering the question "is the technology cloning teacher's direct instruction effectively?". If a teacher seeks to provide feedback, they can use different technological tools to provide faster or more instant feedback, but that does not remove the responsibility from the teachers to also provide feedback, considering the nuances of human nature and perception.
We think we know what digital learning is because we used the internet and technology to attempt to mimic learning during the pandemic. With the trauma that was (and still is) the pandemic, we cannot use this skewed perception of what digital learning is to limit us on its potential. I believe that digital learning takes on many forms and structures. If you ask most people, digital learning is reading an article or watching a video, and those can be good starting points, but digital learning embraces more than receiving information. There are tools and resources to collaborate and communicate with others across the globe, or even just in the classroom. Different software and hardware open the door to creativity and analytical thinking - creating, editing, and reimagining connections and perspectives between knowledge and experience.
A big buzzword right now is artificial intelligence and this is frightening to a lot of stakeholders in education. What needs to be considered is that like with any technology, it is only as smart as the user using it and the person who built the hardware and software. As a person and a user, I would aim to be smarter than the technology and the person who built it. I often think about things like the automatic tip calculator when your credit card is read. There are automatically generated tip amounts at the bottom of the receipt or on the touch screen where you sign, but how many people actually verify that those percentages of the original amount are correct? What if the 15% amount was actually 16% and that small percentage was helping the company gain that much additional profit because of a person’s lack of understanding or even ignorance to automatically accept those percentages as true. With artificial intelligence, it grows based on what people feed it, and if the feed is garbage, the AI “is what it eats” so it continues to produce garbage, which people use and feed back into the software. Students, and teachers, need to learn how to discern what is factual and deceptive, what is true and what is skewed, so they need to think about their thinking and be able to question and verify technology and AI. In doing so, we can harness its power to think even deeper about thinking and use the skill of metacognition.
Mathematics is creative.
I also believe that mathematics is creative and about seeing different and new perspectives and patterns in the world, discovering ways to articulate those patterns, and seeing if those patterns persist in the future instances and different scenarios. When we make connections and patterns, we are able to make better sense of the world around us and adapt according to the external factors. In order for students to see these patterns, we have to be intentional in our instruction to build these connections for them or offer opportunities to find their own connections. We often compartmentalize instruction into units, concepts, and as experts in our content, we know and understand the connections, but students are not there yet because of their lack of exposure. We must expose them to the foundations of these connections and patterns so they can start to build an understanding and repertoire to seek them out themselves. Humans like to make sense out of chaos and try to rationalize everything that happens, especially in society and our interpersonal relationships. When things do not make sense and we do not see the bigger picture, we get frustrated, upset, offended, and we either reject that perspective or deny it. Rather than get frustrated with the situation, we can learn how to adapt our thinking and perspective to try and make better sense through mathematics. If something does not match the pattern, it does not make it less valid, we just need to adapt our pattern and perspective.
There is so much pressure on academic grades that less authentic learning happens. The goal is never about learning more, it is about making sure you can regurgitate the concepts and information to earn the grade so you can get into the college of choice. Grade inflation is real and for those who are truer in grading by using the grade as a reflection of accuracy and comprehension rather than fluff are seen as too harsh or strict, tend to get chastised for the number of students deemed “not successful” because they are failing or close to. To fix this, structures and instruction that do not emphasize grades but rather the process towards learning and building connections must be created, implemented, and refined. This would require a radical change across the entire system and society because we often stick with what we have experienced due to the comfort in knowing what to expect. When drastic changes happen in perspective and approach, particularly in education, people can feel as though it devalues their educational experience. It subconsciously says that the old way was wrong, but we turned out fine so the system and experience must have been fine. In reality, we have learned how to game the system, use and manipulate the system to accomplish what is perceived as achievements in high grade point averages and class ranks, but reflecting back and realizing that these measures do not truly capture all that was learned in school is humbling. Nobody cares about your GPA after you get into the next chapter, college, career, or military, and nobody cares about your GPA after you get your first job.
Mindset matters.
Finally, I believe all students can be successful and one of the biggest factors to a student’s success is their mindset and more importantly the teacher’s mindset about a student’s mindset. If the teacher believes a student can be successful and encourages the student through their words and actions to believe in themselves and be successful, the student will rise to the occasion and meet the high expectations. Very rarely do students not meet the expectations, and if they do not, there are usually obstacles out of our control that are hindering the situation, but those things out of our control should not negatively impact those that are in our control. We are in control of our instruction and the structure in which a student receives and interacts with content and material. If that instruction and structure is intentionally focused on effective practice, collaboration, communication, and reflection, students will make significant growth over a period of small incremental moments that add up.
What is slowly but surely becoming a positive in education is beginning the conversations and discussion on all things not academic, which may lead to less pressure on academic grades and more authentic learning. There are confounding variables when analyzing the higher rates of reported anxiety, attention deficit disorders, and depression. The U.S. News and World Report writes that of students with ADHD, about 14% have depression, 30% have anxiety, and it progresses to about 50% in adults (HealthDay, 2023). The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the importance of self-care beyond the physical. While those affected by mental health concerns have likely been the same, the American Psychology Association says that between the years 2007 and 2012, there was a 20% increase from 9.9% to 11.9% in reported clinical-level anxiety but between the next ten years, from 2012 to 2022, there was a nearly a 50% increase from 11.9% to 20.5% (DeAngelis, 2022). Talking openly about mental health struggles and diagnosis is becoming normalized so more feel comfortable and safe to express that everything is in fact not okay. It is okay not to be okay sometimes. This moment, feeling, situation is temporary.
The reason this is so important to me is because I am a part of the unreported statistic and I write about my journey in my blog post, Let’s Talk About Mental Health – My Journey. I mention that now, in light of the pandemic, employing counselors that address academics as well as the social, emotional, and mental needs of students is being prioritized. With this shift in focus, students are being treated more like people and less like factory workers who we get to churn out a specific, monotonous set of tasks. This opens the opportunity to implement structures such as blended learning environments, which would focus on the process towards learning and building connections, rather than the grade attached to an assignment.
Beliefs Lead to Action
My goal in teaching 21st century skills in a blended learning environment through the lens of mathematics is to go beyond using a calculator to do computations. While I have indirectly been teaching students about these skills, being intentional to look at the back of the puzzle box will lead to utilizing the technology to enrich learning through digital means, and not just learning about math.
Using technology does not intimidate me, because my approach to learning about technology is exploration and modeling that for others. The district I started my educational career in had very limited technology, but my current district is considered a district of innovation and is one-to-one. From the first day in my new high school math classroom, I incorporated the technology to share the typical resources with students: completed notes after we go over them in class, assignments with attached keys, and additional links to resources such as Khan Academy, Paul’s Online Math Notes, and YouTube channels that provided additional examples, practice problems, and perspectives to concepts. Within a year, I was asked by the district to pilot a new teacher device for a semester, providing valuable feedback as the district made the decision to purchase touch-screen devices for both teachers and students. This unlocked more opportunities to engage with the mathematical content.
During the 2020-2021 school year, our district went hybrid, with schedules that alternated between in-person and online classes. Incorporating technology intentionally so students could still be engaged with their peers and materials in the safety of their homes as well as in the classroom became a necessary evil to some, but the chance to really grow more as an educator and model to my peers. That year, I was nominated and won Teacher of the Year, and it was in a large part to my fearlessness with using technology intentionally, not just technology for technology sake. When our district was in the process of switching learning management systems, I was asked to be a representative for our campus in the district forums that analyzed and discusses the benefits and hinderances of two major platforms. Whenever there are campus or district-wide teacher-led professional development days, I volunteer to present on how technology can enrich student learning through being VOCAL – giving students voice, ownership, choice in authentic learning experiences. As I gain more experience and recognition, modeling for my peers how to try new ideas and adapt accordingly, they feel more secure in their own personal ability (one of the six sources of influence, which I write about in my blog post Influence through Social Ability), and their motivation is increased to try the same in the best interest of students. I hope that the small moments of impact I have experienced create a ripple effect, starting conversations between teachers and administrators to be wise enough not to be reckless, but brave enough to take great risks.
Everyone - students, teachers, administrators, parents, and society members - deserves access to opportunities that nurture the deeply intrinsic human desire to make the most out of life by learning and growing daily through experiences as individuals in a global community so we can all reach our full potential.
Using technology does not intimidate me, because my approach to learning about technology is exploration and modeling that for others. The district I started my educational career in had very limited technology, but my current district is considered a district of innovation and is one-to-one. From the first day in my new high school math classroom, I incorporated the technology to share the typical resources with students: completed notes after we go over them in class, assignments with attached keys, and additional links to resources such as Khan Academy, Paul’s Online Math Notes, and YouTube channels that provided additional examples, practice problems, and perspectives to concepts. Within a year, I was asked by the district to pilot a new teacher device for a semester, providing valuable feedback as the district made the decision to purchase touch-screen devices for both teachers and students. This unlocked more opportunities to engage with the mathematical content.
During the 2020-2021 school year, our district went hybrid, with schedules that alternated between in-person and online classes. Incorporating technology intentionally so students could still be engaged with their peers and materials in the safety of their homes as well as in the classroom became a necessary evil to some, but the chance to really grow more as an educator and model to my peers. That year, I was nominated and won Teacher of the Year, and it was in a large part to my fearlessness with using technology intentionally, not just technology for technology sake. When our district was in the process of switching learning management systems, I was asked to be a representative for our campus in the district forums that analyzed and discusses the benefits and hinderances of two major platforms. Whenever there are campus or district-wide teacher-led professional development days, I volunteer to present on how technology can enrich student learning through being VOCAL – giving students voice, ownership, choice in authentic learning experiences. As I gain more experience and recognition, modeling for my peers how to try new ideas and adapt accordingly, they feel more secure in their own personal ability (one of the six sources of influence, which I write about in my blog post Influence through Social Ability), and their motivation is increased to try the same in the best interest of students. I hope that the small moments of impact I have experienced create a ripple effect, starting conversations between teachers and administrators to be wise enough not to be reckless, but brave enough to take great risks.
Everyone - students, teachers, administrators, parents, and society members - deserves access to opportunities that nurture the deeply intrinsic human desire to make the most out of life by learning and growing daily through experiences as individuals in a global community so we can all reach our full potential.
References
DeAngelis, T. (2022, October 1). Anxiety among kids is on the rise. Wider access to CBT may provide needed solutions. APA.org. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/10/child-anxiety-treatment
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (2018). Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic Learning. Creative Commons License.
HealthDay. (2023, January 19). ADHD Tied to Higher Rates of Anxiety, Depression. U.S. News and World Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-01-19/adhd-tied-to-higher-rates-of-anxiety-depression
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (2018). Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic Learning. Creative Commons License.
HealthDay. (2023, January 19). ADHD Tied to Higher Rates of Anxiety, Depression. U.S. News and World Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-01-19/adhd-tied-to-higher-rates-of-anxiety-depression