Molding the Clay: The Development of My Teaching Career
By Brandon Cook
When I first applied to the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) online program at Michigan State University and submitted my personal goal statement in the winter of 2010, I was finishing up my second year as a full time math teacher. Up to this point, however, most of my experience and training since my undergraduate studies had been on physical education with a teaching/coaching emphasis. For this reason, the statement in my goals was “to continue my development as a teacher; first as a physical educator with a teaching/coaching emphasis, then as a math teacher.” I did just that by furthering my education through the Master of Arts in Education program for sports leadership and coaching concentration. I fully intended on continuing my development as a coach as that was one of my primary focuses as an undergraduate.
As life would have it, I continued as a math teacher with no opportunities to teach physical education. I continued to coach track & field as well as football and so my concentration was very much relevant and helpful. In retrospect, it was my secondary concentration in math and science that played a bigger role for what I do every day as a teacher. Even though it was a “secondary” concentration, I spent more of my time reflecting on my math classes through these given courses than I did through my primary concentration (both required the same number of credits too).
In reflecting on my original goals and further reflecting on what I have done since I entered the program, I am not too surprised by the direction my career has taken. I am still coaching and I teach mathematics and will probably be continuing this career path for the remainder of my teaching career. In either case, I have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of students which, is the ultimate goal for me, as with any teacher.
Not only did the MAED program help me develop tools to better coach and teach, I also learned about myself as the educator. I learned about how students learn best in the ED 800 Educational Inquiry course. For many of the other courses, whether they related to my coaching or the teaching of math, I learned about how to take in new resources to use in the classroom. Then in the EAD 866 Teaching in Post-Secondary Education course, I learned more about my strengths as a teacher than in any other course prior to this. This was significant, as I learned that I have a predilection towards teaching using apprenticeship more than most other strategies. After I was done in that course, I realized the teaching environments that I thrive in. In any case, the MAED program at Michigan State University helped me develop tools for teaching and coaching but it ultimately revealed where I might be most productive as an educator. I look forward to see how my career will be shaped, whether it would continue in math education or in coaching.
As life would have it, I continued as a math teacher with no opportunities to teach physical education. I continued to coach track & field as well as football and so my concentration was very much relevant and helpful. In retrospect, it was my secondary concentration in math and science that played a bigger role for what I do every day as a teacher. Even though it was a “secondary” concentration, I spent more of my time reflecting on my math classes through these given courses than I did through my primary concentration (both required the same number of credits too).
In reflecting on my original goals and further reflecting on what I have done since I entered the program, I am not too surprised by the direction my career has taken. I am still coaching and I teach mathematics and will probably be continuing this career path for the remainder of my teaching career. In either case, I have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of students which, is the ultimate goal for me, as with any teacher.
Not only did the MAED program help me develop tools to better coach and teach, I also learned about myself as the educator. I learned about how students learn best in the ED 800 Educational Inquiry course. For many of the other courses, whether they related to my coaching or the teaching of math, I learned about how to take in new resources to use in the classroom. Then in the EAD 866 Teaching in Post-Secondary Education course, I learned more about my strengths as a teacher than in any other course prior to this. This was significant, as I learned that I have a predilection towards teaching using apprenticeship more than most other strategies. After I was done in that course, I realized the teaching environments that I thrive in. In any case, the MAED program at Michigan State University helped me develop tools for teaching and coaching but it ultimately revealed where I might be most productive as an educator. I look forward to see how my career will be shaped, whether it would continue in math education or in coaching.