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Mentoring the 21- Century Teacher

Master of Science in Education, Walden University

May 31, 2020

Mentoring the 21- Century Teacher

May 31, 2020

I hope you are doing well. My name is Eunice Nti, and I am your mentor teacher at Walden University. I am writing in regards to a Virtual Field Experience (VFE) video; Managing the differentiated classroom, you made with Jacqui Hook. The video, about a project-based study of the Cambodian genocide, was one of rigor and informational. In the video, I was able to see some of your strengths, one of your teaching practice, and your educational environment as a whole.

From the meditation instruction you demonstrated in the video, I could see that using an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation is one of your strengths (NBPTS, 2014). You were able to recognize the diverse learners in your class and therefore created an activity that placed everyone at ease and drew their attention to a single point of focus. The feeling of relaxation gave each student a boost of confidence. They were more engaged with their classmates and with each lesson that you taught. Moreover, I will state that one of your strengths also falls in line with demonstrating flexibility in adapting to changed circumstances and student’s needs (Laureate Education, 2016b, p. 2). You diverted from the norm that came from your colleagues and created your standard in the class. You acknowledged and took into account that for test scores to improve, changes must be made. A brief meditation kept the students' minds at ease and, as a result, diminished any anxiety they may have had during tests.

Another strength of yours is creating learning experiences that make a content meaningful and culturally relevant for all students (Laureate Education, 2016a, p. 2). Assigning a task where students are instructed to produce a feature-length documentary film in which they were trained as oral historians by historians at Concordia University and were trained on how to obtain an ethical agreement with participants, created an experience that was both meaningful and culturally relevant. The students not only helped their community in learning about a different culture, but they were able to formulate a story that shaped how the culture was viewed and brought light to the relevance of why and how the Cambodian genocide came about. By having the students research about the war that took place between 1975 and 1979, you provided the students a chance to view a small part of the world that may or may not have had a significant impact on their current lifestyles. Through this assignment, you created a supportive interaction and fostered active inquiries in the community using the knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques.

One teaching practice that stood out to me from the Managing the Differentiated Classroom video is providing room to individualized learning. Although it would have seemed you were efficient in this practice, you may want to dive deeper into this practice style. It is good that you provided the students the freedom to pick roles that maximized their gifts. Instead of having the students produce one film, what about creating different variations of films? The films may be different in some minor aspects, but they would all point to the same message and the same big picture. Since the project centers around the Cambodian genocide, each student could document a short film about their views and interpretation (from what they researched) on the project. This would provide the student’s opportunities to convey the meaning and purpose of the project in multiple ways using a professional tone. It would always motivate the students to develop and enhance their critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills (NBPTS, 2014).

In addition to the teaching practice, I also want you to consider your educational environment. The educational environment reflected in the classroom should be student-centered and not teacher-centered. The classroom should be a place where both the students and yourself display empathy, fairness, persistence, and problem-solving skills. Positive social change and student learning should be promoted in the classroom. To create a high performing environment in the classroom, you must acquire professional practice skills, understand each learner in your class, plan, instruct, and assess. You must also create a learning environment that affirms a student difference, supports the diverse learning needs of all students, and makes learning experiences meaningful and culturally relevant (Laureate Education, 2016a, p. 1-3). Always remember to commit to the students and their learning.

If I may make a suggestion Megan, I would like for you to read “Kids Are Far More Than Test Scores or Why I Continued to Teach in Spite of It All” by Mary Ginley. It is a short essay that can be found in the “Why We Teach Now” book, written by Sonia Nieto. Though the book contains many short essays, I would like for you to dive in and read “Kids Are Far More Than Test Scores or Why I Continued to Teach in Spite of It All.” While watching the video, I noticed that you had stated to Ms. Hook that the curriculum outcomes are non-negotiable. To which, I agree. There are specific skills, and knowledge students must gain at the end of the curriculum; however, the outcome can be changed. As a 21st-century teacher, you must understand that majority of the curriculums are test centered. The students are acquiring knowledge not for learning purposes but for completing specific tests. In the essay, Ms. Ginley focuses on the idea that a test score does not define a student. Like you, Ms. Ginley focused on the completion of the curriculum. As a result, her students were less engaged and were not learning from the contents being taught in class. Viewing this, Ms. Ginley decided to divert from completing the curriculum to promoting student learning in the class. Rather than focusing on whether the curriculum is negotiable or not, focus on creating an educational environment that supports students' academic and personal growth. This will help you to better reform the teacher practice I stated above.

Overall, I can see that you are a professional teacher. With the strengths, teaching practices, and educational environment you have portrayed, one can see that you are indeed an effective teacher. I can see that not only do the students have much profound respect for you but they enjoy your class. Just remember to strengthen the suggested teaching practice, and add on to your classroom teachings so that the classroom would reflect an educational environment. Should you have any questions/concerns or would like to further discuss the various components of the video, please feel free to contact me at eunice.nti@waldenu.edu . I look forward to hearing for you soon.

Sincerely,

Eunice Nti

References

Ginley, M. (2014). Kids are far more than test scores or why I continued to teach in spite of it all. In S. Nieto (Ed.), Why we teach now (pp. 23-35). Teachers College Press.

Laureate Education. (2015). RWRCOEL technology proficiencies. Walden University. https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education. (2016a). RWRCOEL diversity proficiencies. Walden University. https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education. (2016b). RWRCOEL professional dispositions. Walden University. https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Standards for professional educator success [Interactive media]. Walden University. https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Virtual Field Experience™: Managing the differentiated classroom [Video]. Walden University. https://class.waldenu.edu

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