When I began my first year of teaching, I had never completed a single course in the field of education. I had graduated with a degree in Business Administration and majored in Marketing. My degree and business experience helped me land a job teaching Marketing Education for a high school that was unable to find a certified teacher. (A word of warning, I don’t recommend this particular path into a teaching career for the faint of heart!)
During my first year in the classroom, I approached teaching in the same manner that I had been taught during my days as a student. As a student, I sat at my desk, listened to the teacher lecture, completed end of the chapter questions or worksheets, and spit all of that knowledge back out on a multiple choice or true/false test. Once I was in charge of my own classroom, I found myself using the same direct instruction method. I recall from previous readings in Steve Alessi and Stan Trollip’s Multimedia for Learning, proponents of behavioral and cognitive theory treated learners like a bucket that information and knowledge were to be poured into. I now realize that I approached teaching in the early stages of my career in the same manner.
While teaching class one day during my first semester, a student raised his hand in the middle of my riveting class lecture and asked a question that changed my style of teaching for the rest of my career: “Ms. Conger when will we actually do something in here other than reading the book, answering the questions at the end of the chapter, and taking tests? ” I didn’t have an answer; I think I was too stunned to answer his question. I had been so caught up in covering the material in the textbook and getting the required number of grades recorded for the grading period, I hadn’t stopped to consider if what I was teaching was actually being comprehended outside of a multiple choice or true/false test question. However, from that day forward, I was determined to making learning for my students a more active process.
I was suddenly progressing from the world of behavioral and cognitive teaching theory into the world of constructivist learning and teaching theory. I searched for and found motivation from other educators such as Edie Parrott and Vicki Davis who are active educational bloggers and experienced educators. Even though we don’t teach the same subjects, we could all relate to many of the same classroom management issues and could also share some of the same lesson plan ideas which could be revamped to suit our individual courses. An example would be the PSA lesson plan available at Edie Parrott’s blog. This particular lesson relates directly to the course competencies as set by the Tennessee Department of Education for one of the classes I taught, Advertising and Public Relations.
Not only did my teaching style change, there was also a notable change in my students. They seemed to be more motivated and were active participants in the learning process much like the students in this image. The students were coming to school early and staying late to work on projects for local businesses and practice for regional, state, and local business competitions. It certainly was a change from my initial days as an educator and definitely a change for the better in regards to the learning experience for my students. Learning in my classroom had transformed into an active process which allowed the students to connect what was taking place inside our classroom to the real world of business outside the walls of our school.
Guest Blogger: Kristy Conger worked in the classroom for seven years as a Marketing Education teacher/ Work Based Learning Coordinator in the Henry County School System. She also taught computer literacy courses through the Adult Basic Education Program, and currently works as an Academic Technology Consultant for the University of Memphis. Kristy received her BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of Tennessee at Martin. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Instructional Design and Technology at the University of Memphis. After completing her degree, she would like to return to teaching in some capacity and perhaps work within a K-12 setting in an instructional technology role.
Image courtesy of Adam Seering at http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/hs/guitar/su06/imagegallery/pages/DSCF0014. html
Here are some previous posts that you may be interested in:
Great post. I will read your posts frequently. Added you to the RSS reader.
As surprising as the student’s question was, it sounds like a career-changing event. Sometimes it’s those moments when we find ourselves unexpectedly nudged from our comfort zones that insight creeps in. We would all be lucky to have a student like that from time to time!
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Kristy, one of the things that consistently is reported from research with teachers is that these types of changes in pedagogical beliefs are rare. What do you think made you want to change or consider changing the ways you teach?
Honestly, I think my feelings were hurt! Here I am just a couple of months into my very first semester of teaching, and my students thought I was boring! Thus, in my mind…bored equaled not really learning much. As a first year teacher who had NO experience or training, I really began to question myself and my teaching style.
So that particular student’s question made me begin to think….how do other teachers teach? Am I doing this all wrong? I decided I needed to try to learn from some of the veteran teachers who the students always seemed to love. I began talking to some of the other vocational teachers about their teaching methods and also started researching online for activities and lesson plans that would fit my curriculum.
Looking back, I think a large part of wanting to change was pride. I wanted to be the best teacher that I could possibly be. To me, that meant engaging my students and having them also take ownership in their learning process. Plus, we were on a block schedule. Classes were ninety minutes long. Have you ever tried to lecture to a group of teenagers for ninety minutes? Engaged, active students equaled sanity and survival!
I have had no formal teacher training but have taught adults and still do on occasion. My teaching method is based on how I learn and not how I was taught. I think teaching encompasses behavioral, cognitive and constructivist theories. I work with adults to assist them in developing their basic educational skills and I have found that especially with low literacy adults, you must get them to follow certain steps or behavioral patterns. This is important otherwise they do not know where to begin. In addition, providing them support and encouragement along the way helps them seek our their curiosities and want to find answers to things they do not know.
I was in a similar situation when I started teaching. I had never taken any education classes when I was put into my first classroom. Because of that, I think I have always been open to trying new techniques and methods. I also try to take reactions and feedback from students and make changes to my teaching practice for the better.
Kristy,
I love your story and admire your willingness to make this shift in your teaching style. That is not always easy to do. I see myself as leaning towards constructivism when I think of teaching and learning. I believe it is important to “immerse” the students in their learning experiences. It’s nice to hear that you have reaped the results of that in your classroom. Do you think that you may have been a constructivist at heart but needed a “nudge”, as Luther points out, and a model to follow? or was it a true change in your beliefs in learning?
@ everyone, just so we’re clear: if you’ve gone through our IDT program, you have had significant “teacher training.” While we didn’t train you in classroom management or ask you to explain an assessment plan, you did get loads of training on developing instruction and learning theory and matching instruction to the needs of learners. So, I encourage you to embrace this training … if you haven’t already.
I agree that we need to base our teaching style on the way the classroom learns, not how we were taught. I admire those of you that were able to go into a classroom without any formal training. The thought of that terrifies me.
I feel that student involvement is absolutely necessary in order for a teacher to be successful at what they do. Your story was very inspiring, Kristy! I really like the idea of “constructivist learning and teaching theory” because it’s very important for us to try different things within the classroom environment to enhance each child’s educational experience! I truly enjoyed reading this piece.
I found this very interesting, I can’t imagine teaching a class without having any experience or being trained. It shows that if a teacher isn’t sure of what methods to use to teach they should ask the students, they know best what works for him. This article is very inspirational!
I found this blog very interesting. I think I would probably do the same thing when I start student teaching and really get into the classroom. You really have to stop and think about what is going to help the children learn the material the best; whether it’s working with their hands, seeing flash cards, playing games, writing a paper, etc. Whatever it may be, the teacher should try different ways of teaching and testing their knowledge to see which better helps the children in their classroom.
Kristy,
I think it is awesome that you took your students’ feelings and interests into consideration. If a child has to be in a classroom, willingly or not, then I think that it should be a priority to make the time they are “stuck” there an interesting and stimulating experience. Contrary to the beliefs of my high school teachers, the classroom can be a really fun place without sacrificing order and respect!
Also, you didn’t forget that we never stop learning and growing. Your experience clearly changed you in ways you never expected. Kudos to you for being so flexible and for striving for excellence!
I believe that the classroom should be interactive, so I am very glad that you have the same feelings!
I found your research to be very interesting to me. I could not imagine teaching when that was not my main purpose for going to school.
The ultimate learning vehicle for students is through interaction and fun. This is a reason why I am going to teach English. I feel I can be creative with some of the stories and material. I feel students will relate to that more than just lecture.
I two did the same teaching style …But after the students wanted to become more involved . They learned more ……
This happens everyday. Some teachers are extremely stressed out with grades , and meeting guidelines that they forget the small things. I think this blog is a tool that every educator can learn from and try not to repeat the same mistakes.
I liked this blog it really relates to the way a lot of teachers teach. Unfortunately I feel a lot of teachers act as if students are little buckets they are suppose to feel up with information, but that does not mean they are learning the material. I think for children to actually learn the material they need to understand it and not just take it all in and then distribute it on a test and forget about it. It is also scary that they actually let people who have not had training in actually teaching teach!
I believe that teaching is learning things to do yourself. If you are not willing to adapt, you are ready to teach. Every child is different. For each child there is a strategy, and as teachers we should be able to figure out how to gain the attention of each child without leaving anyone behind. We have to be learners as well as teachers which means we have to know each student.
I learned from this article that teachers have to be creative in order to keep children engage and interested in class.
I really enjoyed your story as well Kristy. I do have a couple questions though for you. Once you started to change your teaching style did you do a complete change from direct instruction to something more constructivist or did you continue to do direct instruction but add a constructivist component? I work with middle school students and I can not imagine getting rid of all of my direct instruction. They just do not have much prior knowledge that they could access for doing something more constructivist. I think I would need to continue delivering some direct instruction and then have students apply the direct instruction using some constructivist method. Although you may not have seen it as a blessing, I think having 90 minutes for a class would be nice. I only have students for 45 minutes and I often wish to incorporate some more constructivist type learning activities, but I find that I do not have the time. Also, when you shifted to more of a constructivist method, did you change all at once? I have heard that most teachers need to ease into a constructivist method. I was just curious if you had to slowly ease into constructivist teaching or if you just jumped in head first.
Kristy:
Although, I have never taught in a k-12 environment, I agree that interactivity does have a positive impact on student learning and that a lot of our school could use a dose of “reality” and listen more, as you did, to their students. My 8th grader always reminds me that she is a “kinesthetic” learner who needs stimulation in class. Although she is a relatively quiet student in class (her teachers often suggest that she be more participative in class) I think that if her teachers included a little more interactivity in class, they probably would be telling me that she talks too much. I am amazed by their comments because she is so expressive and dramatic at home.
The great thing about your story is that you did not take the defensive path to what the student said, but that you took “action” that made a difference. Kudos to you for listening to the student’s viewpoint and for recognizing that you needed to do something different that made a “difference”.
Thanks for all of the positive feedback on this post! Let me try to address some of the questions that have been asked regarding my great transformation :- ) I think I was a constructivist at heart, but as a new teacher, I didn’t know how to tap into that. Once I decided to begin incorporating this particular method of instruction, it wasn’t an instant change. I still used direct instruction, but gradually began to supplement with hands on activities. The longer I taught, the more activities I created and had in my lesson plan files to utilize. Therefore, it wasn’t a change that happened overnight. It certainly took work on my part but in the end was definitely worth the effort!
I am amazed that you became a teacher without any experience in the field. I didn’t know that was possible! but that is neat that you were able to do that I am reading now in “First Days of Schol” about how ineffective teachers. A student cannot just work on worksheets and watch videos every day for learning to take place. If this occurs, students will start asking, “What are we going to do today?”, or “Are we doing anything important today?” When a student does not know what needs to be learned and when a teacher does not know what is to be taught, then nobody can learn. That is great that you were able to find a way for students to learn, and not only did they learn but they actually started going to class early and staying late to work on projects. I hope that I can make an influence on my students when I start teaching like you are!
This is an interesting story! It helps reinforce the vision i have in my head for what i want my future classroom to look like. I really believe that the teacher should make the class as enjoyable as they can for the students to WANT to learn. You have clearly accomplished this now with your students staying after school to work on projects. I also think it is very important to teach the students how what they are learning can be applicable outside the classroom; show them “real world” examples and let them see for themselves that what they are learning is important, which you have also accomlished with getting them involved with local businesses.
This is very encouraging. I am going to be a high school Math teacher and it is good to know that students really respond to differentiated instruction. One of the reasons I want to teach is so that I can help students be motivated to learn. It is also exciting to see how your students challenged you. I am interested to see how my students will challenge me when I have my own classroom.
This suprises me that a student actually had to confidence and felt comfortable enough to ask this question. When I coached my first baseball team I found myself using the same practice plan that my previous coaches had used. Although I felt there were better practice layouts that would better develop athletic abilities, it was not until after a month that I realized I was using the very methods that I disagreed with during my personal playing days.