Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Context

This blog has been created for a course on Teaching with Technology in the University of Michigan Masters of Arts with Certification program in Secondary (grades 6-12) Education.

The course requires regular posts reflecting on class readings and discussion. I'm also planning to use it for other reflections on the MAC experience that I am happy to share with my classmates and my friends from outside the program. I'm hoping some of my teacher friends outside the program will read and comment.

My name is Emily. I'm coming to teaching via science (undergrad majors in physics, geosciences, and integrated science, and a Ph.D. in earth science), business (three years at a management consulting firm), and a long history of volunteer teaching and tutoring (most significantly in Peace Corps Ghana). My teaching majors are Earth Science, Physics, and Math.

I'm hoping the program will help me be a better teacher -- my time in Ghana taught me that I enjoyed teaching, but that there are lots of ways to do it badly... too much lecture, moving too fast for the students who need more time, moving too slow to keep the fastest students challenged, too little connection to the practical realities of my students' lives, too much concentration on passing a high stakes test. I want to learn some strategies for doing it right. Or at least better.

Thanks for reading.

2 comments:

  1. this is awesome, emily! looking forward to hearing more about your experiences as you make your way through your certification. good luck!!! :)

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  2. Emily! Just stumbled upon your blog through Facebook and--egg on my face--I had no idea you started the teaching route. It makes me so incredibly happy--I would eat my left arm (and my right one) to give my kids a teacher like you!!

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