Beyond the MAED

After earning my teaching certification in May 2020, I had decided to apply to the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University. My first goal was to further my expertise in analyzing, interpreting, and engaging in developing my own lessons and strategies that utilize students’ prior knowledge and experiences to develop their critical thought processes and math and science skills. Since I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics and I sought to teach mathematics, I chose a concentration in Science and Mathematics within the MAED program to further develop my mathematics teaching and teaching practices.  Additionally, I had decided to pursue my master’s degree shortly after completing my teacher internship and receiving my teaching certification to advance my knowledge of theories, models, and frameworks that focus on improving student learning within secondary school. I had hoped to complete this degree within the first 2 years upon entering the program. After some years of refining my mathematics teaching at the secondary level, my second goal was to continue on to teach mathematics at university level within the next 8 to 10 years.

My current goals are to finish the MAED program in May 2021 and continue to teach mathematics in secondary school for some time. As a future goal I plan to pursue teaching mathematics at the university level and the type of higher education institution may determine whether I would need to further my education and complete a Ph.D. program.  Due to current unprecedented times I experienced being a first-year teacher in a virtual format which has presented some challenges. Instead of preparing to instruct my students face-to-face during the summer of 2020 like I had done in preparation for my internship year for the 2019/2020 school year, I had to adjust my lesson plans and activities to teach in a way that was most conducive to online instruction. Since the beginning of the 2020 school year I had been holding virtual geometry class to 10th graders via zoom. I decided to learn two new tools, a tablet and document camera, at the same time and alternate use of them to prevent monotony in my lessons. I am still in the process of learning all the aspects these pieces of technology have to offer and developing the most effective ways to instruct my students. In an effort to become more effective in implementing online programs for teaching and other technological tools, I would love to further my education in a doctoral program centered around technology and instruction.

I am excited to announce that I am currently completing the last two courses that remain in my MAED program! Two of my main goals, completing the MAED program and refining my teaching practices, are currently in effect with much continued progress. My third goal, to teach mathematics at university level, is still something that I will continue to pursue after completion of MAED. These three goals are still pertinent to me because they are elements of professional development that will further propel me to advance in my teaching practices. I have learned quite a bit over the past year and a half that has contributed to my current teaching philosophy that you can read about here.