When I think about how my summer experience will affect my students over the next semester, year, and career, I really feel like it will be in small, but still helpful ways. There have been a multitude of opportunities for me to grow as a teacher and every step of the way to becoming the best teacher I can be is truly a step for my students towards becoming better members of society. While all of the different PD sessions had a different topic or resource, they were all geared towards using technology to improve critical thinking skills or introducing students to a new way of thinking. This is the most important lesson to take back to every classroom. Students will always be forced into new situations and out of their comfort zones and any support we can give them can only help us prepare them for these moments and experiences.

I’m not sure that I can identify one major thing that will affect my students’ experience in physics, but I can see that I have a mindset change that will indirectly affect them. I am more positive about the teaching profession and have a better understanding of physics as big picture model for real life situations. I also have quite a number of small tweaks in classroom management and activities. The most important thing from my summer experience was everyone’s attitudes towards grading and what grading should be representing. I’m excited about the amount of personal reflection my students do and think that is one of the best things I’ve taken away from the summer.