Reflective Outline of Graduate Courses

Background:
I graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Drexel University
in 2005. Upon graduation, I immediately continued working for the financial company
that I had completed 2 co-ops with and worked part time for through college. In 2006
I started taking graduate classes part time at Arcadia looking in to if I wanted to
pursue a career change to education. It is now more than 9 years later and I have
completed almost all the requirement courses for my Maters and I am now looking
toward graduation in May 2015. Just this past June I was offered a contract high
school mathematics teaching position in the same district I did my student teaching
and worked for as a permanent substitute and long-term substitute. I can now use
some of the knowledge I have gained over the years into practice in my classroom.

General Foundations of Education in the US:

I went to public schools my whole life but did not know the history of how public
school was established in America. In this course I was able to also learn different
teaching philosophies that influence our schools today. I was able to observe a
classroom on a weekly basis that helped show me what high school classrooms look
like from a nonstudent perspective.

Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners:

I was very nave before this course. The only time prior to this class that I had spent
in a classroom was as a student. I was not fully aware of all the diverse learners that I
would encounter in my classroom and all the appropriate accommodations I should
have in place. I only had a GIEP in school, and after this class I requested a copy of
the paperwork so I could look over what a real GIEP looked like. I am still learning
more and more from my special education colleagues but feel I have become very
knowledgeable over the years of the needs of the diverse learners; this course really set
a solid foundation.

Cultural Foundations of Education:

This course helped open my eyes to the cultural diversity that exists in todays
classroom. My own high school was not diverse, so this class was very informative. I
was able to learn about potential cultural bias in instructional and assessment tools.
The big take away from this class was the most important aspect in a students
educational experience can be the teacher.

The Teacher and the Classroom (Secondary):

This class helped me understand teacher responsibilities and classroom management.
This class content means more to me after the fact as know I can apply the knowledge
gained in my own classroom.

Learning and Assessment in Mathematics Education:

This course let me be comfortable researching and using NCTM activities in the
classroom. I learned about different ways to teach and assess in the math classroom.
These activities were new to me, because my own educational experience was taught
from a very traditional approach.

Computers and Technology in Mathematics Education:

This technology course helped open up my eyes to using technology, even specifically
Web 2.0 tools, in my classroom. I was able to experiment with many different
applications to see how to streamline my classroom. I use many of the skills I learned
in this class in my classroom room; currently I have the Edmodo App on my iPhone so
I can communicate with many students about my classroom and my organizations.

Abstract Algebra:
The Abstract Algebra course helped enhance my higher level math skills. The material
is higher level than what I will teach in students, but as a teacher, knowing higher
level math and where students are headed down their educational track will be
beneficial.

Modern Geometry:
This geometry course was challenging but offered many labs in which I had to utilize
Geometers Sketchpad. I had to use higher level skills for my Sketchpad labs but then
became knowledge of the program so I could apply it into my classroom. During
student teaching I used Sketchpad frequently with my Honors Geometry course so
they could discover some geometric properties on their own.
History of Mathematics:
The History of Mathematics course I found very interesting. In my own educational
experience I had taken honors level and Advanced Placement math courses and even
majored in mathematics but knew little of the history. I found this course extremely
interesting and currently try to bring history into my own mathematics classroom.

Student Teaching:
Student Teaching was my first experience to really see what my responsibilities as a
teacher were to be day to day. I had an excellent cooperating teacher that started me
off with a great deal of responsibility. I was in charge of what I did in the classroom
and how I assessed the students; I made all my own notes, activities, and
assessments. Student Teaching was the best experience I had in my graduate
education because it truly showed me what a teacher does in and out of the
classroom.