My first semester as a high school teacher has been fantastic!! I have thoroughly enjoyed discussing America’s history with inquisitive learners, collaborating with like-minded educators who also want to challenge their students, as well as constructing strong relationships with my talented mentees that will last a lifetime. I have also appreciated the support and constructive feedback I have received from my iTeach mentor, Roy Culberson, who has shown me how to further continue engaging students in active learning activities, in addition to pursuing new uses of instructional technology to enhance students’ experiences in my classroom. After a moment of reflection, I intend to continue to create real-world, engaging lessons in the future.
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| My 2nd Period on the last day of the fall semester. My APUSH students are always happy and eager to learn about new characters and events in American history! Photograph by author. |
Content Knowledge
Learning content is paramount in an Advanced Placement United States history class. Since my students are preparing to take the AP exam at the end of the academic year, it is essential that I incorporate testing strategies as well as content in my lessons. On observation day, my class and I reviewed the key concepts from the previous class (a check for understanding) prior to discussing the content of that day. During the brief lecture with a PowerPoint presentation, students were tasked to identify key themes and concepts and put those in their own words on paper. Instructional strategies used during this part of the lesson involved direct instruction and note-taking (the latter being a crucial skill to master in a college-level class). One of my learning objectives for the students was for them to acquire a preliminary knowledge of the infamous abolitionist John Brown and a failed raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, the election of Abe Lincoln in 1860, and the subsequent succession of Southern states in 1861 (prior to the first battles of the Civil War). I take pride painstakingly preparing for each lesson by reading scholarly books and journal articles about the concept; in doing so, I become very comfortable and confident in answering my students’ follow-up questions after the lecture so that they become more familiar on the topic (which may incite independent research afterwards).
Most of the second-half of the observation class consisted of an activity that allowed students to further practice a skill they will need to grasp for the AP exam. Students were tasked to read and analyze a variety of primary documents (including speeches and political documents from the 1850s) using the AP ‘HAPPY’ analysis: Historical context, audience, purpose, point of view, and why is the document relevant and important to study. Students were able to easily access the documents via Schoology, the school’s data platform, and work in groups to complete this assignment, giving them the opportunity to gather feedback and other points of view from their peers. The activity focused heavily on independent learning (reading) as well as collaboration. Ultimately, the students partook in a meaningful learning experience, further developing their comprehension and investigation abilities, which they will use for a lifetime.
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| I was humbled to be recognized as the Social Studies Department Teacher Spotlight for the month of December. I intend to continue playing an integral role in my department's leadership team and on various committees. Photograph by author. |
Communication
Effective communication plays a key role in my classroom. It is my objective that every student naturally gets excited to enter my classroom and travel back in time to eagerly learn history. To address this exhilaration, I greet each student with a bright smile and a friendly, overly-elated character. On the day of the observation, after I welcomed my field supervisor into the room, I strolled around the class, laughing and chatting with students — since the start of the year, I continue to enjoy listening to their outside-the-classroom life stories, which include discussions on evening band practices, athletic games, and the most recently-released movies on Disney+ or Netflix. These informal conversations not only give me a fantastic opportunity as a teacher to further educate myself on the hectic yet rewarding lives my students follow, but also allow the students to relax and take a deep breath before the bell rings, signaling the start of class. Since I foster a civil “thinking tank” in class, I strongly encourage my students to share their familiar knowledge, and politely criticize the opposing idea while not pointing fingers at a person. On observation day, I led a small “popcorn” discussion prior to the lecture, persuading students to look over their notes from the previous class, answer review questions, in addition to assisting others who appeared to struggle at mastering the content.
My positivity and collaborative, welcoming classroom environment permitted quieter students to feel at ease answering the questions (at times, with assistance from peers). Also, if a student gave an incorrect answer, I praised the part of their response that was right (mentioning that their reply was “on the right path, yet not quite…”) before I offered the question again to the same student or another student who was willing to provide an answer. If the class appeared to be befuddled at the content or confused by the question’s wording, I dissected the question into smaller parts, personally navigating my students to an area where the correct answer was attainable. For example, I offered one of my students a chance to answer a question on the Compromise of 1850; the student was able to recall Henry Clay, the author of this proposal, but gave me information on the 1820 Missouri Compromise. I awarded positive feedback for the “Henry Clay” response, briefly mentioned the events of the era that influenced the law (i.e. California applying for statehood), and encouraged the student to carefully re-think the answer using the clues I had given them. Aside from the discussion, I practiced clear, precise language as well as appropriate vocabulary during the lecture. Direct instruction was also accompanied by hand gestures and a PowerPoint presentation, suitable for my visual learners. Since I taught college-level history prior to this academic year, I have had to adjust my instructional approach. To accommodate high school learning styles, I begin my lessons discussing the bigger themes prior to chunking those large ideas into smaller, detailed parts.
I love talking about the subject I am passionate about! Photograph by author.
Professional Dispositions
My sincere enthusiasm for teaching and keen interest in American history shows students my devotion to the class (and my willingness to help them succeed). Since I am jubilant and happy at the start of class, my students’ attitudes towards school and history positively change when they walk through the door; every day, my students have appeared to own productive identities by opening their spiral notebooks without question, and excited to take notes and learn about a new era in American history. Like every other evening before the next day’s lesson, I planned an informative, interactive, and student-driven lesson outline for the observation—the lesson plan, which I talked about at the start of my observation class, consistently keeps the class on track (since the AP curriculum covers a lot of content in a short timeframe, this schedule is very important!). On top of stressing organization in class and via my daily routine, I always dress in a suit and tie and am properly groomed. Teachers and administrators are role models for their students, and should exhibit a professional appearance in the classroom (this gives me many opportunities to highlight the type of professional attire many of my students will wear when they obtain interviews and jobs). On the day of the observation, I confidently wore my suit and was punctual in meeting and exchanging pleasantries with my iTeach observer at the office.
During discussions, I stress to my students that they should listen to every viewpoint before making a comment. They should criticize the idea if they are opposed to it, and not the person making the comment. This comfortable, inviting classroom atmosphere provokes the quiet students in class to speak and share their views (without the fear of being publicly ridiculed). On observation day, I discussed the importance of Cowboy GRIT with my students; “Gratitude, Respect, Integrity, Trust” —these are the principles every student and teacher at Coppell High School follow. I emphasized the fact that honesty and valuing diversity in the world goes a long way and this ethical behavior is the civil conduct we should demonstrate every day. Since my students are heavily involved in extra-curricular activities and club projects outside of the class, my homework schedule offers flexibility (as I was an athlete in high school, I comprehend how relieved a student becomes when their teacher extends a pressing deadline). On observation day, one of my students approached me to request an extension for the sourcing assignment on the grounds that she would have to miss the class it is due in because of her off-campus volleyball tournament. I thanked the student for telling me and approved her request. Since the observation, that student helped the volleyball team win the tournament and submitted a first-rate assignment with barely any flaws or misdirection. In a nutshell, I consistently exemplify professionalism, flexibility, and respect for others, with the intent of providing guidance and support to all my students.
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| In this teaching position, I have bumped into many old friends and colleagues. At a recent Coppell High School swim meet, I reconnected with one of my old swim club teammates, Trevor Doyle. Trevor teaches chemistry and is currently the head swim coach at Denton Guyer High School. Photograph by author. |
Technology
I consistently utilize PowerPoint presentations with graphics during my lectures, offering my students many visuals to look at during the lectures. I believe black-and-white photographs, charts on military and political statistics, and maps of the United States assist my students in comprehending the gravity and geographic landscape of a historical situation. For example, as I discussed the presidential election campaign of 1860 in this lesson, I showed my students various political cartoons from magazines of the era, which chastised Abraham Lincoln’s anti-slavery platform, in addition to ridiculing the Republican candidate’s “ape-like” persona and Mary Todd Lincoln’s “chubby” figure. The visuals revealed the campaign to be a cut-throat and bitter crusade for the Lincoln’s, often getting horrifyingly personal. In an effort to connect this campaign with the election results, I showcased a large map on the projector, highlighting the electoral votes for each candidate and Lincoln’s failure to win a single vote in the pro-slavery Southern states. My students’ understanding of Lincoln’s struggle to political power as well as the staunch Southern opposition towards the platform of the Republican Party was enhanced by the illustrations, evidenced by the lively student-led discussions that happened later.
Towards the end of the lesson, I tasked my students to access an online collection of primary sources from the 1850s—the documents included political speeches and records that had a significant impact on the events leading to the Civil War. Students analyzed the dense rhetoric and authors’ messages of each document (using an Advanced Placement skill, ‘HAPPY’), and with their iPad Apple pencils, completed a chart that they are later going to utilize in a Socratic seminar. Also, students were able to find another digital primary source of their choice (from the decade prior to the war) and evaluate the importance of it, creating a personalized episode for my learners. The sourcing activity involved students further developing scrutinizing skills, which they will need to master for the Advanced Placement exam at the end of this academic year. Moreover, I placed emphasis on the importance of using technology effectively, indicating to students in my class which websites should be used for scholarly purposes (which does not include Wikipedia). Since citations are notably required for college-level history essays, I also showed my students the importance of quoting and recognizing their sources. Fortunately, my students were all present in class on the day of the observation, eliminating Covid-challenges, including technology issues on Zoom or Teams. Moreover, students were able to collaborate with one another, face-to-face, with or without technological devices. In sum, technology played an instrumental role in enabling my students to visualize origins and consequences in history, and further mature as digitally-competent Advanced Placement scholars.
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