Many of our favorite teachers share a common trait, a teaching process characterized by a continuous evolution and refinement of practice stemming from curiosity and feedback and, ultimately, a love of the meaningful connections that can be shared between teacher and student—the “ah-hah!” moment, when a student really gets it.
In her most recent blog post, LCS Chemistry teacher Melissa Rathier recently described her teaching career as, “one big action plan in teaching Chemistry. Question. Reflect. Explore. Test. Re-Test. Repeat.” She goes on to describe one of the biggest shifts she made in her teaching practice and the questions that inspired her to pursue the “flipped classroom” and why it was so successful. It’s a wonderful insight into her craft which I encourage you to read if you have not yet. Enjoy!
“I have been lucky enough to teach the same courses (Grade 11 & 12 Chemistry) for my entire 15 year career, which may sound like an absolute nightmare, but I have seen it as an opportunity to refine my craft. Intentional reflection has allowed me to develop my courses and increase the quality of delivery with each passing year. I continually work on understanding the material at the highest level, revise student materials to ensure their quality and try new techniques (cooperative learning, POGIL activities, inquiry-based learning) to improve student learning. My teaching career has been one big ... (read full article)“