Taking grad classes

[Deleted]

So, I'm officially on the prep for back to work track. I had thought about taking a class last year but house building blew that up. So now I'm considering my options. 

I do NOT want to go back to straight special ed. In PA I can test into different certifications. I have my first round scheduled and am studying. 

Im thinking I also need to take some classes to seem current and desirable. Also as soon as I start back I'll be out of act 48 compliance for continuing education.. but that is covered by 5 credits. I've talked to the kinda local tech university and since I already have a masters they were like, just take a few classes... it's 800$ a credit. 

The one  I really want to take is critical issues in teaching mathematics (all these courses are tech heavy). It has a prerequisite I'd need, a lower level leaning technologies class.

there are two others I'm interested in... one on Flipped Classrooms, and one on Engaging with learning activities, games and simulations. No prerequisites for either.

If i take all 4 it's like 10k. I have the money, but is it the best use of funds? How much will it help? It also puts me at Masters +12. I only really need 5 for continuing ed, so two classes would do it. 

If I only do 2... the prerequisite and one I want most? Or the two with no prerequisites? 

[Lizard Queen]

I vote for the math and tech. Those seem to be the ones that would appear most desirable to the schools.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

What salary schedules are you looking at? How much more will you make and what # of credits do you need to get further to the right?

It was always my goal to get to the far right column as fast as possible. I'm at M+50, but not all districts go that far over.



Also, how's the internet access for students in your surrounding districts? I say that because while I'm totally interested in flipped classrooms, it's not feasible for me because 50% of our students don't have internet at home.

[Deleted]

I'm not sure I want to go too far right before I get a job though? I don't want to be too expensive to hire... but, ok I looked it up and next step would be Masters + 15 at the two closest districts.  So I wouldn't be over, but I also wouldn't have to take many more while teaching to get to the next stage.

Internet. yes, I'll look into that more.

im definitely into learning more math and related tech and I think that would be an area where teachers are needed.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

For what it's worth, YDS had a flipped classroom for PreCalc and HATED it.  ABSOLUTELY HATED IT.  Didn't find the videos helpful and didn't find the classroom instruction after the videos sufficient.  Bear in mind, he's my easy kid, too.  Dean's List entire freshman year in college with a heavy emphasis on Sciences and quantitative methods.  

So, the course on flipped classrooms should be taken with a critical eye (as should all new trends in education -- some aren't all they are cracked up to be, but that might be my own jaded experience talking.   )

[Lizard Queen]

I think it's a gimmick personally. I had one class like that in my last stint of college. I think it probably works better for college--Maybe. But the prof still ended up lecturing, too. It's wasn't enough.

[giramomma]

I would likely wait on the flipped classroom as well. Not only because you don't know about the internet/technology situation at home..but also, do you know yet what local school systems offer in terms of technologies to use for said flipped classrooms?

I took a very broad based eLearning Tools class this summer.

I was introduced to 3 other learning management tools/software as part of the course.

Which was nice. But I'm never going to use those tools, because of who my university system contracts with. I'm assuming it's the same for K-12. (Our k-12 school district can use Moodle.)

Our instructor also pushed using YouTube to manage/stream videos...When I asked her if I could use one of the two video streaming tools that our campus system uses, she said she had never heard of them..

I might consider engaging with learning activities, games, and simulation. Even at our kids' private school, we're seeing more of this even from the oldy-moldy teachers than have been there since forever (like teachers are teaching the second generation of families) . I also learned there's an alternative school in the next district over that pretty much specializes in teaching high school kids through activities..(ie, statistics is taught through fantasy football.)

But if you just are after the smaller number of credits..I would do the math and tech.

[Deleted]

giramomma, I love that phrase "oldy-moldy" teachers . . . even if I probably resemble that remark!  I started teaching 43 years ago this year.    

Our district is very into technology.  All of our kids have Chromebooks, for example.  That said, the flipped classroom fad has come and gone here.  Most high school teachers aren't good lecturers, which is fine.  Lecturing isn't teaching.

If I were prepping for a new area, I would choose math.  There is always a need for good math teachers.  

[phil5185]

im definitely into learning more math and related tech and I think that would be an area where teachers are needed.

I've made my living from math for over 35 years. One thing I've noticed, both in college math and K12, is that there is a large difference between analytical thinkers and artistic thinkers (what used to be called right brain-left brain).

If an instructor tells me that "the cosine of an angle is found by dividing the side adjacent by the hypotenuse", that probably left me with the problem of getting a dictionary and looking up words (what is 'adjacent').  But if you tell me that 'cos a equals b/c' the concept is easy - 'oh, why didn't you say so?' 

This becomes very important in engineering, I've had engineers that, when I tell them something, I carry a sketch pad with me - "words" simply don't communicate the thought - it takes equations and sketches for a 'visual' oriented thinker.

This may be why our K12 kids today have such poor math skills (compared to european & asian kids), ie,  our teachers aren't connecting with our visual/analytical kids.

[Deleted]

Aug 13, 2017 12:49:38 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

im definitely into learning more math and related tech and I think that would be an area where teachers are needed.

I've made my living from math for over 35 years. One thing I've noticed, both in college math and K12, is that there is a large difference between analytical thinkers and artistic thinkers (what used to be called right brain-left brain).

If an instructor tells me that "the cosine of an angle is found by dividing the side adjacent by the hypotenuse", that probably left me with the problem of getting a dictionary and looking up words (what is 'adjacent').  But if you tell me that 'cos a equals b/c' the concept is easy - 'oh, why didn't you say so?' 

This becomes very important in engineering, I've had engineers that, when I tell them something, I carry a sketch pad with me - "words" simply don't communicate the thought - it takes equations and sketches for a 'visual' oriented thinker.

This may be why our K12 kids today have such poor math skills (compared to european & asian kids), ie,  our teachers aren't connecting with our visual/analytical kids.

You need to read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers to understand why Asian kids are better at math than our kids are.  It has to do with the way numbers are expressed.  Their language allows for quicker computations.  I don't want to say that their numbers are expressed right to left because I don't remember completely.  It's been three years or so since I read the book.  But it is something like that.  The way we express numbers hinders computation.  That is sort of what you are saying, but not quite.  By the way, I was always better at math than I was in English, but I hated trig with a passion.  

It's a really good read, which I think you would enjoy.  It's the source of the 10,000 hour rule.

[dee27]

I hated math until I had a great teacher who knew how to teach the concepts. Math finally made sense to me since most of my former teachers said, read the chapter and do the examples. Math is logical and we use it every day, but the way it is taught in school is horrible. Since I took a boat load of science courses in college, I thank that great math teacher for opening my horizons.

[Lizard Queen]

I have hope for the new common core teaching methods for math. I don't know that much about it, but what I've seen so far, they're teaching shortcuts that took me years to figure out on my own.

[Deleted]

Common core isn't really a curriculum, but it has coincided with changes in approach that I do like. I used Singapore with my kiddos and it was like a math fit with how I've always conceptualized math. I'm a minority around here so I'd actually like to get more involved in teaching math given current trends.

[phil5185]

You need to read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers to understand why Asian kids are better at math than our kids are.

Thanks. I placed my Amazon order, should get it day after tomorrow. 

[phil5185]

I used Singapore

Some of my nieces were in those ages group a few years ago, so I helped them with their Singapore math. To me, the methods were jumbled, the kids had more problems understanding the methods (approximate, then calculate). The methods to perform an approximation were more complex than the actual problems.   Google Singapore math, each grade level 1-8 has 2 books and 2 workbooks. And they sell physical models of gadgets to stack up ones-tens, hundreds. And more. All the 'buzz words" are included, Core, Placement, yada. Looks more like a money-maker than an educational tool?

And they knocked rote memorization.  I'd prefer that an astronaut in a panic doesn't need to think about 8x7 = 56. Or worse yet, have to ponder the ones & tens to derive an answer. Rote has its place.

[Deleted]

I'm 44 and still go 14,  28, 40-56 in my head. I'd rather people get it right  

Rote is ok to increase speed once concepts are well understood. 

Singapore curriculum was generally cheaper than most actually. I can't say as I did everything always exactly for every step/problem, but the system is awesome. 

1-6 has 2 books/workbooks each, 7-9 were one larger book. I only used 1-6.

Singapore seriously kicks our ass in math. 

I do own tons of manipluatives. 

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