While doing the TPI test, it mentioned keeping one group of students in mind, so I kept in mind the few students I'm currently tutoring/mentoring this semester.
Although I didn't know what each teaching perspective entailed, I had a general idea just from the names that Nurturing might be one of my highest and Social Reform would probably be my lowest. So I wasn't too surprised from the result that this was the case, but I was quite surprised at how low my Social Reform score was compared to the others. Honestly speaking, I do not know what Social Reform perspective entails. I did a brief search and it says teachers who are "interested in creating a better society and view their teaching as contributing to that end." I do believe creating a better society is important; thus, it makes sense my belief (B) score is highest of the sub-stats. However, I've (previously) always believed learning how to better society was something learned in Socials Studies (from history/current events) or Science (ex. global warming). Since I teach math, I've never considered how my subject area would corroborate this belief so it makes sense my action (A) score is very low in comparison. However, from Inquiry 1, I'm realizing that math classes can shed more light on societal issues, but it will likely take me a while to incorporate this into my teaching. Knowing my recessive perspective will hopefully make me more aware of it when teaching. However, trying to balance all five perspectives will probably be difficult given there's some trade-off (focusing more on one will reduce the others).
From reading the summary of each perspective type, my dominant (Nurturing) and back-up (Transmission, Developmental, Apprenticeship) perspectives do reflect how I see myself and my own teaching and the sub-stats also align fairly consistently so there is not much surprise there for me. However, I did notice in Apprenticeship that my intention (I) score was quite low in comparison to my belief (B) or action (A). I'm not too sure what this could mean, maybe this belief is simply not my main priority when I teach, since I tend to focus more on Nurturing and Transmission.
Overall, I think this was a really interesting and eye-opening test and it helped me reflect on what I prioritize when I teach.
Thanks Lisa! Very interesting, thought-provoking responses to the TPI, and great introspection into your own reason for answering the self test as you did. We will be doing some work in class on teaching math for social reform, and that might help clarify what that perspective is about.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, thank you for the insightful reflection on your TPI results. The challenge you've identified in how to incorporate social reform into math teaching is a common one among the class, as math is often perceived as distinct from subjects like Social Studies or Science. However, as you mentioned, math classes can indeed shed light on societal issues, and your willingness to explore this aspect in Inquiry 1 shows your openness to this potential.
ReplyDelete