At the beginning of the course, a lot of my attention was on more general educational challenges. Many of the themes that I picked out in the first few lessons were less about the math and science classroom and more about the kinds of issues educators were facing in their overall teaching practice. Ideas like needing more time, needing more professional development, how we build critical thinking skills in students and so on. Most of the courses I have taken in the MET program have had a more general approach and have not been subject specific. When I go back to the beginning of my e-folio, I notice that this mindset came into this course with me and took me a while to wash off.
As we continued into Module B, things started to shift. Learning about the different approaches to teaching in the math and science classroom specifically forced me into reflecting on my own practice in these subjects. Though I still was relying more heavily on my previous experience, my mindset definitely shifted. The Jasper Series and anchored instruction techniques really grabbed my attention because it was similar to the approach I use in my own practice. I gravitated to the GEM framework as I really liked the cyclical nature and this was where I started to explore what my classroom could look like if I opened up to take more risks and try out new approaches.
The last Module of this course really prompted me to explore platforms and tools that I had not yet before. As a teacher, sometimes being back in the learner’s seat is intimidating. Some of the platforms I found difficult to navigate and learn from, but this reminded me what it’s like to be a learner again. The final entries of my e-folio become a little bit more inquisitive. I noted that this was where I allowed myself to feel like a beginner again and to understand that it’s alright not to have all the answers. Moving forward, I will most definitely be incorporating more visualization platforms into my math classroom. Though in the past I have felt really confident with how I’ve taught math, I think that these platforms specifically could really benefit my students.
In trying to come up with a metaphor, I asked OpenAI (2025) to help me. The one that resonated with me the most was that for me, this learning experience has been like turning on the light in a room that you normally walk through in the dark. When this happens, you usually don’t turn on the light because you are so confident that you already know the way through the room. You’re not worried about tripping over something or missing a step because it’s a comfortable room for you. This is how my pedagogical approach to teaching math and science was at the beginning of the course. Turning on the light shows you how much more is in the room and how much has changed since the last time you turned on the light. I’ve gotten to experience so many new platforms and learn from so many of my peers that I can now see how much more I can do to expand my practice and benefit my students.
Reference:
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT response to a prompt about metaphors for becoming more open-minded [Large language model]. ChatGPT. https://chat.openai.com/