OBTA Essay by Anna K. Sanders Scott
It is an uncomfortable thing to be writing about the strengths of my teaching. I am honored to be nominated for this award, but the truth is I spend more time focused on what I could do better in my profession than on what I do well. The act of preparing my application has been informative and powerful, and after considerable thought, I understand why my focus is so often on my shortcomings. There is nothing I believe to be more important to the future of my family, my community, or my world than a population of voters and citizens who are able to think about their actions critically and evaluate knowledge claims based on evidence. In a time where there is great concern about the health of our environment, biological warfare, diminishing natural resources, global poverty, and disease, I see that the only sustainable path toward solutions begins with educated and engaged young people. I believe that my job is tremendously important, critical even, to this cause. It is not a responsibility to be taken lightly, and I feel a sense of urgency in each lesson to help my students realize the importance of and their capabilities in independent thought and to achieve literacy in science. Each day I push myself to do a better job than the day before in challenging my students to reach the ideal of the independent thinker. I want my students to be able to choose science as a career if it is right for them, but at the very least not to be afraid of science or scientists. I want them to be empowered to make decisions about their planet, their health, and their country, confident in their own evidence-supported opinions. What follows is a brief narrative describing how I came into the profession, why I choose to stay, and how I help my students down the path toward intellectual independence on a daily basis.
As a college student, I was adamantly discouraged by my research professor from pursuing teacher certification with my Biology major. He insisted that the only acceptable track was for me to study science in graduate school and work toward a career in academia. I was shocked at his disdain for teachers and teaching, but he was my mentor at the time, and I followed his advice. However, while I was completing my applications for graduate school, I was offered a teaching position in Rockdale County. I was to teach science in the Project Success Program, which is a federally funded program designed to target and support high school students at risk of dropping out of high school. I took the job believing I would only teach for one year. I knew on my first day that I was wrong. I realized early on that I have a gift of helping students with aversions to science understand its significance and relevance. I was turning kids on to science even though many had never liked it and never believed they could understand it. They were getting engaged and they were being successful. I had found my calling. Though I had to leave Rockdale County to get my professional certificate, I stayed connected to classrooms in graduate school. I worked in elementary classrooms in Clarke County through the Fostering our Community’s Understanding of Science (FOCUS) program at UGA. I also worked with student teachers in Cedar Shoals High School and college science students at UGA. Even as I was studying theory and writing papers the pull of the classroom, at a variety of levels, was too strong to ignore.
After I completed graduate school, I did briefly entertain the idea of leaving classroom teaching and pursuing a career in academia. In fact, I was offered a job at a University in North Carolina, and considered it. My professors encouraged me to “reach my potential” and have a career in higher education. It did seem glamorous, but I knew it wasn’t for me. My gift and my passion are teaching science to young people. Many colleagues at UGA were disappointed with my choice to resume classroom teaching, but I am where I belong. I come into work everyday focused on the goal of developing an appreciation for science and capacity for critical thinking. I am enthusiastic about my goals for the students and the sharing the content.
My students feel that enthusiasm every day, and I believe they look forward to coming to my classroom because of my positive attitude and the variety of student centered activities in which they will be involved. In Biology, I teach the students who have not excelled in science in the past, so they have been placed in the college preparatory rather than the honors curriculum. It is my job to win them over and to help them succeed in science. To help me accomplish that, I design my courses with student engagement, cultural relevance, and current events at the forefront. My courses are built around the Georgia Performance Standards, but also on my favorite question. That question is “How do you know?” My students will chuckle and roll their eyes, but they would all tell you that asking and answering that question is required for achieving in my class. I challenge them to support their knowledge claims with evidence, and to demand that others do the same. I have been known to return assignments with comments under their one word responses. My comment is always the same, “Resubmit and tell me how you know!” In my class, we spend time answering the question together. A typical class meeting involves 10 minutes of recap of the prior day, and a brief introduction to the lesson for the current day, and then getting to work on a student centered activity or investigation. There is a balance of discovery learning and guided inquiry in the lab component of my class and also ample time devoted to student projects. At least twice a semester, I have the students prepare projects highlighting the nature of scientific discoveries. For example, they will present to each other the answer to questions like, “How do we know plants photosynthesize?” or “How do we know DNA is the genetic material?”
I strive to engage them in using as many modalities as possible. For each unit, I will look over my plans and ask myself, “Have I given them a chance to touch the content? Sing it? Play it? Read it? Write it? Listen to it?” If I haven’t I will correct my plans until I have covered as many modalities as possible. While I keep them active and working using a variety of learning styles, I keep them focused on learning outcomes by asking them to be metacognitive. I will ask, “What do we know now? And most importantly, how do we know?”
In addition to constantly attempting to get my students engaged and positive about science, I give them ample opportunity to study how it matters in current times. This year, we had a debate in 9th grade Biology about Stem Cell Research and in Human Biology we debated the Golden Rice/GMO issue. These debates give students a voice, and remind them that very soon decisions about the fate of our world will be in their hands.
So, in the spirit of my teaching style, I ask myself at then end of this reflection, “How do I know I am an outstanding biology teacher?” Again, until writing this essay, I have spent more time considering how to improve than considering what I do well. However, having done this, I see that the critical reflection I engage in as evidence of my commitment to this profession and to my students. Indeed, even though I consider myself a reform-based, inquiry savvy teacher, I never feel that I have arrived. This job is too important for complacency. I hope that I am outstanding because I will continue to strive to meet my goals, because I believe these goals are urgent for the health and well being of the planet, and because my enthusiasm for this purpose only grows with time.
