Tact in Teaching

I am really, really sorry this is so late!




"In this sense the focus of teachers tends to be on what we here call pedagogical practical knowing and sensitivities--the complexity of relational, personal, moral, emotional, aspects of teachers’ everyday acting with children or young people they teach (van Manen et. al., 2007)."


The interests and concerns of a teacher are distinct from the traditional expectations of public schooling. Teachers' aim in general is not to simply transfer skills to a student but to allow for personal growth from the exposure to the knowledge and expertise of the teacher. A huge part of this repertoire of experiences is not specific to any particular subject matter but with social and emotional learning. One of the largest tasks of a teacher is to know how to be effectively considerate and accommodating to the complexity and uniqueness of each student in every class. The unique experience of having extremely frequent exposure to personal interactions brings about more time to reflect on how to act in a way that is of the best interest of every relevant person. This means that if teachers seriously reflect on their personal interactions they will be able to carry themselves with more thoughtful tact, something that will also be translated to the students among the subject specific experiences that instructors create.


"Does the concept of teaching as reflective decision making aim at a plausible and attainable reality?"

I think setting clear ideals for professionals in the public sphere makes it easier for governments to provide better services to it's citizens. The standard of teaching being reflective decision making is a very modern conceptualization of the role of an educator and it is mainly a result of putting a larger focus on a more pedagogical framework of teaching. I think that although it may be difficult for many teachers, especially considering the impracticalities that exist in the current classroom, the real question ought to be what the consequences of setting such a standard for the teaching profession is. This new ideal, where teachers need to exercise reflection, is the first step in ensuring a more inclusive environment for students and meaningfully acting toward that mandate. The ways in which one becomes a reflective teacher are unique to each individual and the process in each case might be more or less successful due to a huge number of factors but alternatively there would be less focus on this important phenomena that  has the consequence of providing better education for students.


"We might even say that the practical knowledge of teaching resides in the things that surround us: the physical dimensions of the classroom that I recognize as my room to which my body is adapted."

One of the elements of practical knowledge that teachers learn through instructing is the ability to use the classroom efficiently as a learning space. In order to be able to achieve this level of functionality, which comes in a huge variety of shapes and forms, the teacher must first know how to control their classroom. This is something that really only comes with time and experience. The ability to come into a classroom and act in a way that makes it such that the atmosphere naturally brings about participation and excitement is not something that can simply be learned from a text book. It is an ability that comes after reflecting and taking note on what works and doesn't work for students. The practical knowledge obtained through teaching isn't content specific, it has to do with a way of being that comes after reflecting on how to make all people feel welcome.

Exit slip

Praise is a verbal mechanism used to acknowedge good behaviour such as improvement or sucess and is often used by teachers in order to express their content with a student's behaviour. In most circumstances teachers are aiming to become a reflective teacher and the praise given is usually with their student's best interest in mind. Althought there are many benefits with being honest about your content as a teacher with how any indivdual student is performing there needs to be careful consideration of the spectrum of responses that students have as a result of praise. 

Today I very confidently placed myself at a 10 as an extrovert. Talking is my favorite activty, I have virtually no anxiety about speaking to or infront of anyone, and I really really love people. More notably I love people because it gives my brain the opportunity to express the thoughts and experiences that I am having when otherwise I find great difficutly finding a means to do this. Growing up, however, I was very socially introverted. I think one of the reasons I felt introverted had to do with the necessity of behaving that way in order to go about day to day life. My family situation was not very stable and there was glooming inevitably of discomfort for everyone and therefore an expectation of not talking or addressing this discomfort. In elementary school my best friend was very dominate, even to the point of borderline forcing myself and three other friends to dress up like the cheetah girls for a week straight, and therefore even though I have memories of acknowledging a need to talk in order to conceptualize my thoughts I usually kept to myself and listened. When I graduated elementary school and went into middle school I was transfered to a school closer to my father's house. In this new school I was in late french-immersion and had the same class of 19 students for three years. In this particular class group work was the worst possible iteration of a nightmare. I was ignored, made fun of, laughed at, and humiliated on a daily basis from this set of classmates. I learned perhaps wrongly but very quickly that it is much easier to hide yourself to avoid critism than the alternative, and thus I very rarely talked with anyone at all. 

The people I spoke to during that time were mostly teachers in some capacity. I have a large family, 4 sisters and 3 brothers, so all going through school most teachers immediately recognized my last name. A truly huge percent of my teachers reached out to me and members of my family and provided support. One particular occurance that really shaped my transition from introverted to extroverted was when my english teacher encouraged me to try out for the improv team. I immediately felt welcome and comfortable and had a new way to express myself in a way that was within my personality. Almost immediately after starting theatre my confidence and self-worth skyrocketed and I started feeling drive and excitement. I was feeling a lot better than I had felt really during any stage of my life thus far. I started to love school instead of dreading it and my grades rose substainally.

I think the biggest importance behind implementing a multi-dimensional classroom is the ability to be accomodating to the wide spectrum of students in each and every single class. As an educator one can use experience and knowledge as ways in which you can help students and meet their learning needs. Praise will make some students happy but in order to be a truly reflective teacher one must always consider what will make all students happy.

The Flip Classroom

In a day and age where it seems like every person in the western world has a mini-computer in their pocket it is natural and necessary to think about how technology and the internet can enhance learning. The flip classroom uses rather simple technology, a camera and or microphone coupled with writing software, in order to create instructional videos that are available online for students. This resource allows for the ability to have students watch these videos at home as a way to free up class time. This free class time in principle is to be used for completing problems and assignments.

I think that video lectures can provide a lot of benefits for certain students. Not only can they be designed and edited to provide clear and optimized lectures, they also grant the ability to repeat, pause, and stop lectures which can help with comprehension especially for students who have a harder time keeping up with the pace in the classroom. Although I believe pre-made videos are a great resource that can help with comprehension, I do not think that a completely flipped classroom is the best way to use this resource as a way to enhance teaching.

One other benefit that the flipped classroom can provide is the ability to have a more dynamic classroom. Often times in order to meet curriculum demands teachers with more technical subject areas need to spend most of their class time covering material through lectures.  A static environment like this clearly limits students' ability to learn, however the alternative that the flip classroom provides isn't inherently dynamic. If this technology is used such that almost all class time is used for completing problems and assignments this also creates a rather static environment which can inhibit learning. For example as students become more accustomed to a less formal environment it may become increasingly difficult to ensure the class is focused. Further, assigning obligatory video homework assignments everyday can cause certain students who do less well with completing assigned work to fall behind very quickly in the material. It is also substantially more difficult to complete this homework for students who do not have computers at home and must arrange this required computer time into their schedule through provided services which is not always easy or fair. This kind of systematic computer-based homework creates a clear advantage for people who have computers at home.

I think most of the harm that come from having exclusively a flipped classroom or exclusively a traditional classroom can be mitigated by integrating components from both to create a comprehensive set of lesson plans for the entire duration of a course. If video resources are available for students generally they can make use of that resource if necessary, but in terms of assigning videos to watch for homework I think it should be used strategically and thoughtfully. I want to write more, but this is getting quite lengthy. Ultimately under the assumption that an optimal set-up would be a mix of both teaching strategies I think that technology more broadly gives teachers more tools to be able to change up the setting of their classrooms. Students have difficulty being taught the same subjects everyday in the exact same way and there are diminishing returns to any style of classroom. With technology it is much easier to integrate different ways of representing things such as through engagement and collaboration due to time gained from homework lectures or through the multitude of other ways in which technology can be used as a learning resource.

Becoming a Reflective Teacher

In this article the importance of reflective action when teaching is explored and illustrated. Although it was written over twenty years ago I think the three components of becoming a reflective teachers as stated, open-mindedness,  responsibility, and wholeheartedness, are all extremely relevant in all contexts of teaching and will continue to be even as time goes on and society changes. From the arguments presented it seems as though these three qualities would ultimately guide instructors to create more positive and dynamic classroom setting for students. If someone consciously makes the effort to be a reflective teacher a lot of the harms that can be done to students unintentionally are avoided or made less severe. The article talks about how if a teacher acts in a way that is most convenient or natural to them, referred to as non-reflective teaching, then the pre-conditioned actions that promote inequalities through historical and cultural contexts are perpetually taught in schools. As a public servant whose job is to educate all members of the state who are in classrooms by law, acting against bias and challenging ideas that cause harm is extremely important in order to create a setting where all students can succeed. Every person acts in ways that are conditioned by their upbringing and other characteristics that are inherent to everyone and no-one has much control over, but as an educator providing this essential service we must make our work experience one that conditions us to change as a means to further our objectives in education.


I agree with most of the points raised in the article. One point raised that I hadn't really considered before is the idea of strategically choosing a work setting where you can properly capitalize on your teaching philosophies. I foresee that in my teaching career I might face difficult setting which may make it harder to be a reflective teacher, but I am excited for the huge amount of parameters that will allow for change and progression. The excitement of life.




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Entrance slip - Inquiry Topic Possibilities

Becoming a teacher was not something that seemed to be a natural choice or something I had always know. Certain areas of education peaked my interests in the way we communicate mathematics to young people. I am particularly interested in the inclusion of pure mathematics as a way of aiding with understanding and retention. Other areas that interest me are the use of code in creating simulations in code as a teaching mechanism and also the consequences of group work on mathematics problems.

Pure mathematics: often times we communicate the way to do math instead of the way to understand math. Certain concepts can be explained very easily using basic geometry, number theory, and other more theoretical elements. I think that if we have the ability to set the steps necessary for students to find the answer to the problem themselves, whatever the given concept might be, then it will be more natural for them to remember and further it will build confidence in the operations being performed. Further, viewing things from a theoretical stand point often relies on concepts that have already been taught in past years thus providing the opportunity to review and put previous concepts in context.

Numerical Analysis: code is becoming increasingly accessible and important in numerous fields. I am interested in the benefits creating interactive learning environments through the use of code. It could be visual but further it breaks up problems into the smallest steps, similarly to when using pure math.

Group work: what kinds of projects will be interactive and challenging that allow for natural group work? Not all problems are approriate for group work and its important to know how how to design projects such that it does become a positive collaborative space.

Six controversial statements about (mathematics) education

The question of the best possible way to teach mathematics, or any subject for that matter, is a quite an ambiguous and controversial one.  In mathematics education the inclusion of elements such as theoretical concepts and history in curricula is generally not as valued as the applications of mathematics. In the discussion today we spoke of the benefits both of these components can provide to a student's understanding, but there was no consensus on the best way of engaging students with the material nor was there a clear agreement on how these elements should even be introduced into the classroom.

One of the final things brought up in the discussion was the idea that a teacher can only ever teach what they are. I think this theory points out how variable the inclusion of non-traditional components of a subject is based on the educator. An instructor has the responsibility of designing lesson plans that allow them to naturally progress through the subject matter according to their own understanding. In the context of mathematics education in order for a teacher to meaningfully integrate theoretical and historical content into their lesson plans that content itself should be a part of how the instructor comes to understand the material being presented. If we do agree with the opening statement, that you can only ever teach what you are, in order to improve the depth in which an instructor is able to communicate their subject matter they themselves must try to expand and deepen their own understandings through the relevant components. I certainly agree that all teachers ought to try and expose themselves to media and materials that could allow for them to have a better understanding of their subject matter through non-traditional means.

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This is my puppy dog Tyson. I miss him a lot.