Future Teacher, Forever Student

Throughout my undergraduate career, almost all of the courses in my education major started the semester with some type of reflection on philosophies in education. Since my courses on child and adolescent development (running in my second and fourth semesters respectively), I have identified most strongly with John Dewey’s Theory of Progressive Education. Progressivism has therefore been a common theme in my blog posts, and today’s reflection will continue my growth and strengthen the philosophical foundation I have built for myself as a progressivist teacher. Of course, other theories in education are worth consideration: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and humanism all offer insight on how we learn from various perspectives of study. However, I find that progressivism (if adopted fully) takes the best points of these theories and blends them together, creating a student-centered learning environment where student needs and interests are at the forefront of their educationa

In my search for great teacher resources following my education program’s transition to independent learning, I have found several websites and blogs run by educators currently or recently working in the field. Last week, I dove into the wealth of knowledge available on Cult of Pedagogy. This week, I’ve spent a lot of time on the 3P Learning website, and although it is geared more toward housing elementary education resources, a majority of the classroom management and general teaching strategy articles are relevant to educators in all grade levels. 3P Learning’s mission is centered around the use of enthusiasm and online gaming to engage students with their learning: “We create award-winning learning resources that are aligned with dozens of international curricula, matching engaging and gamified learning content to the standards, outcomes, and requirements of schools across the world.” Personally, I am a huge fan of pairing iCivics with social studies curriculums, so the idea of

“Good morning, Vietnam!” While there are a million different ways to offer someone a greeting, the only one that feels sufficient for our modern crisis is reminiscent of Robin Williams’s cheer and the turmoil of the 1960s. COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it, if not temporarily, and my last semester at Saint Michael’s College has suffered a similar fate to those of other universities across the United States. As educators, we encourage our students to persevere through academic and social challenges. As humans and community leaders, we must continue to do the same. In light of the changes taking place within my licensure program, the next few weeks will be filled with independent study of education-based topics from the safety of my own home. Together with my program supervisor, I have selected a few goals to work on remotely as a way to improve my teaching skills while practicing CDC guidelines and keeping out of a physical classroom. This week’s goal is a continuation of

Hello! After a long February break followed by a short three day return to EMS, Team Nova is back into the full swing of things with our “We The People” debates. Today, students practiced debating their fellow classmates in a similar format to what our debates will look like on Thursday, presenting and fine-tuning their arguments as the ideas of rebuttal and crossfire were introduced. Two practice debates were held simultaneously, with myself and Mr. J. each moderating one set of pro/con groups per class section. In my debates, we proceeded through the protocols slowly, reviewing each person’s arguments, appropriate rebuttals, and proper debate etiquette individually. While some groups will really need to hunker down and edit their arguments before debate day, today’s practice provided helpful insight for both students and teachers: the actual case material seems clear, but the concepts of forming and refuting arguments in a respectful but strong debate have room to grow. With