Revised Stance on Quality Teaching

Quality teaching is a topic at the center of our nations discussion on

education. We, as teachers, are measured based on evaluation
standards, we place myriad necessary standardized tests in front of
our students to continue to assess our quality, and then we hear about
it from all angles.
In my mind, quality teaching is grounded in establishing a safe
environment where students feel loved, cared for, and able to take
risks and make mistakes. This sets a framework for digging into
content with curiosity, engagement, and critical thinking. Mcbee
(2007) speaks to the idea that forming relationships with students and
taking their individual context into account is essential in quality
teaching. Students must feel that their teacher is there to support
them, and a caring relationship is a huge step in that regard. Ive
found that in prioritizing this type of environment, students are much
more willing to engage with the material, both open-mindedly and
excitedly.
In establishing genuine relationships with students, a teacher creates
an avenue for students to buy in to the happenings in the classroom.
Dewey (1933) states a genuine enthusiasm is an attitude that
operates as an intellectual force. A teacher who arouses an
enthusiasm in his pupils has done something that no amount of
formalized method, no matter how correct, can accomplish (225-226).
In terms of quality teaching, few things can go as far as generating a
desire in students to think and to learn. With such a required emphasis
on curriculum coverage and test scores, often times its the
engagement of students interests that gets left on the wayside. In my
experience, it is not until students care to ask their own questions and
investigate their own understandings that learning becomes authentic.
This is why so many sources highlight the importance of real world
situations and realistic applications in a math classroom. Equally
important to the presence of these tasks, though, is the
implementation of these tasks. Quality teaching emphasizes the
question: how are we creating a desire in students to explore these
concepts? There is no short answer, but the approach I take always
comes back to making learning a personal experience for students. I
try to bring as much math as I can to the context of students
individual lives, which then circles back to establishing relationships
with students.
When it comes to teaching practice, quality teaching must focus on
facilitating and encouraging students to deepen their own
understandings through structured opportunities. A deeper learning

experience, promoting true understanding and engagement, stems

from providing students the tools to question and consider their own
understanding, as well as that of their peers. In doing so, the teaching
goes beyond content knowledge, into building independent learning
strategies and character. One way I work to structure these
opportunities is with groupwork featuring my artifacts- the use of role
cards and whiteboards to facilitate class discussion. By working in a
particular role, students are tasked with a set of responsibilities
designed to ensure engagement and contribution from each group
member. The whiteboards present an opportunity for each group to
have a starting point and a voice upon which to build. The quality
teaching comes through in being able to facilitate a learning
experience for the class- knowing when to prompt, when to question,
when to clarify, and when to show restraint. By cultivating an
environment where students engage in and value discussions and
debates surrounding content, students are forming learning habits and
strategies along with their understanding of the material.
Thus far, my stance on quality teaching has centered on student
interaction. However, quality teaching incorporates so much more
than just the in-class aspects of the profession. One of the most
important elements of quality teaching is reflection; that is, carefully
considering what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how we can
improve it. My experience in the teacher preparation program at
Michigan State placed a large emphasis on lesson reflection. After a
lesson was taught, we would reflect on how we thought the lesson
went and then debrief it as a group. This process was invaluable, not
only because I learned what questions to ask myself, but also because
it simply created the habit of reflecting on every aspect of my teaching
practice. Dewey (1904/1965?) mentions the importance of being a
student of subject-matter and mind-activity and states that unless
a teacher is such a student, he may continue to improve in the
mechanics of school management, but he can not grow as a teacher,
an inspirer and director of soul-life (10).
Due to the amount of variables that go into teaching every day, there
is never a shortage of reflection opportunities, especially pertaining to
subject-matter or mind-activity present throughout a lesson. Ive
had several lessons that I felt went perfectly, meaning I
accomplished just what I intended to and got the outcomes I was
looking for. These lessons are often the most beneficial to reflect on
because they provide insight into what worked and why it worked. In
examining these lessons, Im considering how I can incorporate these
elements even more prominently and more efficiently in the future.
Deweys claim that we cannot grow without this type of reflection is
absolutely true- quality teaching is reliant on ones ability to self-reflect
and adapt based on that reflection.

Collaboration with fellow colleagues is yet another facet of quality

teaching. Professional learning communities (PLCs) as well as
mentor/mentee relationships provide built-in collaboration
opportunities, but these are often times mislabeled or misused. The
type of collaboration necessary in quality teaching comes from
valuable dialogue and professional development in the way of
examining ones own teaching and pedagogical stance. FeimanNemser (2001) poses the notion that what distinguishes professional
learning communities from support groups, where teachers mainly
share ideas and offer encouragement, is their critical stance and
commitment to inquiry (1043). This really resonates with my
experiences; I tended to encounter much more encouragement and
support rather than authentic inquiry and conversation, especially as a
beginning teacher. While there is absolutely a need for support, it
became difficult to find a medium with which to engage in a
productive, critiquing conversation. As our peer-coaching cycle
indicated, the presence of another teacher considering, questioning,
and providing feedback on our practice is a hugely beneficial tool to
have. It is quite useful to have this type of collaboration because it
helps to facilitate the type of self-critique and careful consideration
necessary to continue improving as quality teachers.
Along with the importance of reflection and collaboration comes the
connectedness of the two. Mosle (2014) identifies the opportunity to
watch other teachers teach as the single best kind of teacher training
available, a statement I agree with, primarily because it promotes
reflection in ones own practice. In my first year of teaching, I met with
my mentor teacher, Marie, twice a week to discuss pedagogy and
happenings within my classroom. She was extremely knowledgeable,
always willing to help, and full of suggestions, but it wasnt until I had
the opportunity to observe her teach her own class that I really picked
up on some of the things that made her such an incredible teacher. As
soon as the class began, it was clear to me that expectations for the
class had been established and understood prior to that day. Students
were diligently working on a bellwork assignment, talking quietly about
the assignment with their partner. When the time came to get into
groups, students were assigned roles based on the color of tape on
their desks, with very little commotion. Marie then gave clear, concise
directions, spending time on information pertaining to that particular
activity (rather than general directions, because these were already
clearly understood) and then had a student repeat them to clarify any
misconceptions. As soon as questions were addressed, the groups
were off. It was these smaller, procedural elements of my observation
that really stood out to me, because they arent something we
necessarily discuss in mentor meetings or professional learning

communities. Having high expectations for my students was not new,

but being able to clearly articulate and display these for students was
a huge takeaway from my observation. This experience provided a
great reflection opportunity for my own teaching and really allowed me
to examine what made the experience her students were getting
different from the one mine got. An opportunity to reflect on ones
own practice, as well as the practice of other successful teachers, is
an immeasurably valuable task when promoting quality teaching.
All things considered, quality teaching remains an opaque term in
the larger scheme of education. There isnt a set of standards or a
clear-cut evaluation method with which to deem it achieved or not.
However, the collection of elements Ive laid out here create a
relatively well-rounded picture of what I feel quality teaching is and all
that goes into it.

References
Dewey, J. (1904/1965?) The relation of theory to practice in
education. In R. D. Archambault (Ed.), John Dewey on education:
Selected writings (pp. 313-338). Chicago: U of Chicago Press.
Dewey, J. (1933). Why Reflective Thinking Must Be an Educational
Aim. How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective
Thinking to the Educative Process. 212- 228.
Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). From Preparation to Practice: Designing a
Continuum to Strengthen and Sustain Teaching. Teachers College
Record. Volume 103 (6). 1013-1055
McBee, R. (2007). What it Means to Care: How Educators Conceptualize
and Actualize Caring. Action in Teacher Education, Volume 29 (number
3), 33-42.
Mosle, S. (2014, September). Building Better Teachers. The Atlantic.
Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/09/building-betterteachers/375066/