My responsibility as a teacher is to cultivate a classroom environment that encourages students to participate, collaborate with their classmates, think conceptually, and invite and be responsive to feedback. I intend to model my classroom based on constructivism by designing generative math activities in which students use what they already know to form questions and ideas as they explore mathematical concepts. As the teacher, I will have an understanding of my students’ knowledge so I can encourage active learning and reflection, address misconceptions, and guide discussion in a way that students are constructing knowledge rather than receiving information. Students learn best when they are asked to actively participate in their own learning, thus encouraging them to exercise intrinsic motivation. This makes learning more enjoyable and also promotes social skills that are transferable outside of the classroom. It is my hope that my students are taught and encouraged to have growth mindsets as this will facilitate learning by increasing their awareness of their strengths and weaknesses and how to utilize or overcome them.

I intend for my classroom to be a welcoming space for my students to continually grow as learners and as people. I want my students to be helpful classmates and I will be sure to model this myself by always supporting my students and reminding them that our abilities are not fixed and there is so much we can learn from failure. It is imperative for me to address any sign of stereotype threat directly to empower students to believe in themselves. Along the same lines, it is necessary that I am aware of my implicit biases, so that I can work on getting rid of any assumptions, microaggressions, etc.

To best assess what my students know, I will conduct formative assessments throughout the school year by providing positive, useful feedback, asking open-ended and probing questions, using wait time, and practicing responsive teaching. By implementing this assessment strategy, I will be able to identify which students need additional help, which activities may need improvement, how to design future tasks, and, in general, support students’ individual needs more effectively. My most fond experiences in school have been with educators who genuinely care for their students and want to be a positive influence; I hope to accomplish this same thing when I am in that position.

At this point, I believe that my strengths are building rapport with students, differentiating class activities, math knowledge, and working with others professionally. My weaknesses include not knowing how to accommodate all students the most effectively as I have not had direct experience with particular learning disabilities, and time management while teaching an in-depth lesson plan. My field experience has taught me the importance of accommodating for and supporting diverse learners. Therefore, making my classroom resources accessible and my lessons equitable is necessary for my students to feel supported. I also believe productive communication with parents and students is essential to student success in the classroom. I would like to continue to improve my time management when teaching, learn new ways to teach students math, and how to look for or create such activities.