Personal Reflection

1.Restating Goals.
My goals are similar to before. I have become motivated to assess the way
that I implement technology for teaching and learning and I also believe that this
can serve as a great contribution to my school
professional community. Teachers are faced with a lot of
mundane tasks that are ripe for automation, and this
program has reaffirmed the value of time to play with
technology. I am particularly interested in the
possibilities of Google Classroom.
Next, my role has changed significantly this year. I
am now the Lead Teacher for the middle school and the
school Science Coordinator. Also, I have led a crossdisciplinary team for the Museum of Science and
Industry's Science Leadership Initiative. In this program,
I am tasked with assessing the state of STEM education
at my school and developing action plans to implement
changes. This program has created a rich dialogue about what STEM means
among my colleagues and my experiences as a MSU-Wipro STEM and Leadership
Teaching Fellow have uniquely prepared me for this role. What remains is to
consider exactly what that role will be.

2.Anticipating Change
I am emboldened in this work because as I consider new roles, charting the
course of STEM instruction at my school, and reflecting on leadership, I have felt
like I am in uncharted territory. When I listened to Rosalinde Torres' TEDTalk, I
found the statement that many (unsuccessful) programs focus on preparing
people for the past rather than the future to be poignant. This program has made

me much more comfortable with embracing uncertainty though I have long

been an advocate for teaching the power of uncertainty in science. (Feynman is
particularly important for me)
Yet, when I applied to this program, I though that one of the things I would
get out of it is a working model of what it means to be an effective STEM
educator. This is a common teacher desire that the right research, workshop,
book, or website will be the magic bullet that obviates the need for hard work. In
this program, I have certainly done hard work, and I think that I am no further in
the search for what it means to be an effective STEM educator, but the path
ahead now seems far richer than it did at the start of this program.
Of course, I could have anticipated this realization. I have long advocated
for quality professional development as a key aspect of improving classrooms.
Nonetheless, instead of one
model of outstanding STEM
instruction, I now have 49, mine
among them. Where the kind of
learning I thought I would
experience in this program would
provide me with the answer, I
am comfortable now with the
existence of many answers.

3.Explaining what is the diversity measure of your network?

This question did not seem all that pertinent to my present situation. I am a
member of a very diverse team, in several respects. I certainly do not feel that I
am only validated in my opinions we have lively exchanges, and I like it that
way! On the contrary, I think I am pretty good at searching for common ground
with other educators and others who are interested in education. In fact, it is in
the conversations with friends, neighbors, and associates who are most removed

from education (no kids, teacher friends, etc.) that I am best able to hone my
arguments in favor of my vision for education.

4.Exploring in what ways (if any) you feel courageous enough to

abandon the past?
I have been teaching science long enough (almost 18 years now) that ideas
that seemed bold at the outset of my career are now anachronistic. (I have only
realized this recently) I think the primary source of my courage with being able to
try new things is my constant contact with the next generation of teachers. I
work at a training school, and I constantly speak with student teachers. I
organize lunch events to cultivate conversations and organized a lunch time art
club to help create opportunities to get to know each other. I think that I am most
effective when we perceive each other as equals who all have something to bring
to the conversation. I think it does a disservice to new teachers to let them think
that there are no struggles for experienced teachers I certainly do not feel that
way; yet, I do have some experiences that can benefit others. I am most
courageous when I consider how to strike a balance between what is known to
work and those richest of questions: Why? What if we...? Could we...?