My graduate Science and Socials Studies Teaching Methods Course was one of the best courses I have ever taken in my academic career. It was a small class and the other students in the class were a lot of fun, but that is not what made the course so wonderful. What made the course wonderful was our professor, Dr. Lorraine Davis. She taught us not only about he art of teaching science and social studies to elementary school children but also about modeling, confronting our fears, integrating subjects, taking advantage of every opportunity, and working hard. The remarkable thing about the class wasn’t what she taught however, it was how she taught. She taught us by integrating everything she taught us into her classroom. She was teaching us how to be the best possible teacher we could be by modeling for us. Dr. Davis had mastered the art of modeling.
The class began with an inventory so she could see what we already knew about science and social studies instruction and what we wanted to know. We had all learned about KWL charts in reading methods but had never thought about using them outside of reading, let alone use them to gather student input for planning classes. We had input into the class which made it more meaningful and useful. It also gave us a sense that what we thought and wanted mattered and made us that more interested in learning. At the end of the class we reviewed the inventories we had filled out at the beginning of class and were amazed at how much we had learned and how far we had come.
Dr. Davis encouraged us to try new things and confront our fears. One of the things that she found out from our inventories was that we did not like physical science. She told us that most teachers especially women, don’t like physical science because they do not understand it and they fear it. Because of their fear many teachers usually skip over physical science units in the classroom. Dr. Davis taught us that teachers need to confront what they do not know and try and understand it for their student’s sake. She admitted that she had not done a whole lot of things with physical science but was willing to give it a try. She researched and brought in some great activities. We spent a majority of our science time focusing on physical science and trying to understand it better. She was learning along with us and from us. Although we were not physicists at the end of the class, we did leave that class with a greater understanding of physical science and we left the class with a willingness to confront our fears and learn alongside our students.
Dr. Davis taught us to learn from experiments and lessons that do not work out. We did an experiment with flowers and food coloring that had worked for Dr. Davis at home but did not work in class. Instead of considering the experiment a failure, she used it as a springboard for us to hypothesize. We talked about why it might not have worked and we also talked about what to do in a situation in class where an experiment did not work. When we left a class confused about something, Dr. Davis would always bring something to the next class that would help us better understand the topic, whether it was another experiment, a book, research, or a person.
Dr. Davis also encouraged us to take advantage of everything that was offered to us. We explored the Smithsonian, and identified great instructional opportunities ( that were free too!) that we could use with our classes. When there was an event at the school she would rearrange class so that we could go and participate in it and would then construct a lesson around the event. She taught us where to find free materials. She even took us to the Curriculum Materials room in the library, where sadly most of us had never been before.
If Dr. Davis didn’t know something, she would admit it and she would work on finding the answer. She would consult friends and colleagues in her process of answering our questions. She also encouraged us (the students) to work on finding the answer. She once told me, and I have found it to be true, that teachers have a hard time admitting that they do not know something. She was willing to admit to us when she didn’t know something and find the answer.
Dr. Davis made learning authentic. We had a teacher in our class and some of our classes centered around helping her think of new ways of teaching her curriculum. She would help us problem solve about our practicum placements. All of our assignments were things that we could use in our classrooms when we began teaching, We weren’t learning what to do in a classroom but how everything fit together.
I have never had a teacher like Dr. Davis who was able to model what she taught so well. Most of the modeling that I have seen done has been in "sample lessons" but never consistently throughout every class and in such a way that you don’t even realize it until you take a step back to reflect. I hope that one day when I am in the classroom I am able to model as well as Dr. Davis. If I am able to be half the teacher that Dr. Davis is then my students will be very lucky!
-- Sarah Jane Weaver, American University