Which is more important: content or pedagogy?

This has been a question for debate as long as I have pursued education. Does the success of students develop from what you teach or how you teach? Going into Kenan Fellows I had a desire to deepen my knowledge of my content in an effort to better support my pedagogy but I did not initially know whether I would be able to choose one side or the other as a result of the Kenan experience. Throughout the course of the professional development and the internship this conversation came up multiple times in regards to various subject areas and even in the microbiology lab which is generally detached from these sorts of conversations. Some argue that knowing what you’re teaching is the key to success and some argue that it is how you teach the content that really matters. Some argue that you need a balance of both, but no one has really talked about why they have chosen one side of the other.

These conversations have made me wonder if the value of content and pedagogy vary in relation to the experience a teacher has. For instance, thinking back to my first year of teaching I’m not sure having a true grasp on the content was even an option after coming from general science courses in college. The curriculum in middle school science is so vast that there are not enough credit hours in college to cover it all. I think the key to my success was the delivery of the content that I brushed up on along the way. There were some topics, such as the electromagnetic spectrum, that I could not even remember when I learned it in grade school, let alone college. It was in instances like this that I think pedagogy kept my head above the water as a beginning teacher. I knew how to differentiate and and deliver the content and I have done that really well. However, while I still have so much left to learn with both pedagogy and content, I feel there is a larger gap with the science. This may be a result of many things, from my background of science in grade school, to majoring in education instead of science, but it is very much a reality for me as a beginning teacher and I would have to say that at this point in time the pedagogy is more important than the content because it has led to so much of my success as a beginning teacher.

This is when I wonder if either pedagogy or content matter more or less at different points in a teacher’s career. I know a balance of both is ideal and necessary, but if every teacher had to pick a side I wonder how experience would influence the decisions. For me, I feel that pedagogy is most important because until I have gained adequate experience it is the thing that helps me make sure my students are getting the content. However, to a veteran teacher, I wonder if the content is the most important component because the pedagogy is ever-changing.

Kenan Fellows is an opportunity for teachers, beginning and veteran alike, to craft both their pedagogy and content. We have had the opportunity to delve into specific fields and work with professionals who have no dealings with how we teach the information we are gaining from them. When talking to my postdoc I told her that she was really good with the “what” and I am really good with the “how.” I think this is generally the case with most internships/fellows. We as teachers are great at navigating our curriculum and figuring out how to supplement it with our wonderful projects. With that, I think the varying aspect is how deep our content knowledge goes. Maybe this is what comes with experience in terms of the number of years you have taught or maybe it comes from experiences like Kenan Fellows.

It has taken some time for me to digest everything that has happened with Kenan Fellows and Students Discover. After marinating/reflecting on my time at the museum I have been able to put it all into perspective…sort of…not really. How do you put an experience that was so monumentally life-changing into a perspective that makes sense? My attempt is below.

When starting my internship at the NC Museum of Natural Science I had no idea that I would gain a new mindset on teaching. On day one at the museum we sat down and discussed expectations and goals for the experience and by day two we had basically learned everything we would be doing in our classrooms. To be in an internship that lasts for three weeks, and to have basically learned the protocol that we will be implementing in our classrooms by the end of day two leaves a lot of room for uneasiness. I remember wondering what we were going to do next if we had already learned everything we needed to know. As a Type A personality I like for things to be planned and prepared for, and while they were, I did not immediately see the vision. Julia was unbelievably patient with the entire process and was very honest when even she did not fully understand what the outcome would look like. Her plan to teach us the details of what we would be implementing in our classrooms at the beginning of the internship was brilliant because it allowed us to marinate on everything we learned and how it would look in our schools for the remaining time at the museum. We were able to contribute our own ideas to the project because she provided us with the essential background knowledge and skill set on day one. This gave us time to help Julia with the research she  wanted to tackle while we were there and we even had time to spend with Dr. Julie Urban who is wonderful! I had no idea how big a role microbiology plays in so many aspects of our world. The most exciting part of this experience has been realizing just how accessible microbiology can be to kids and how advantageous this project is going to be for my students. They are going to go to high school knowing how to collect samples, prepare samples, plate samples, how to make agar, pour agar, pipette, spread a sample, grow a sample, analyze a sample, and report findings back to a scientist who really cares about the bacteria the weeds are recruiting in their schoolyard. These are things some college students and college graduates do not know! My 13 year old kids are going to know these things! This is huge! If there were ever a chance for my students to get ahead of the curve this is their chance. This project has empowered me to empower them with these incredible skills and knowledge. Julia is tangible proof that somebody cares about the science they are doing and that their time matters, even as middle school students. This is such a hard concept for kids to grasp because they have a difficult time picturing themselves as scientists. They still picture scientists as old white guys in lab coats holding beakers of green liquid.   They are contributing to our world in such a meaningful way and this internship has opened the door for hundreds of middle school students who, before now, did not even know that door existed. I am so grateful I work in a county where our science support folks encouraged me to apply to the Kenan Fellows Program and I am forever grateful I conveyed my passion for education east of I-95 to Dr. Julie Urban who then took my message back to my wonderful mentor, Dr. Julia Stevens. I am a better teacher because of KFP, Students Discover, and the wonderful folks I worked with in the Genomics and Microbiology lab at NCMNS.

Throughout my internship at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences the goal has been to learn the methods of my postdoc, Dr. Julia Stevens, but also to determine how to scale protocols that are typically performed in a mostly sterile environment to an average classroom. In her lab, Julia uses micropipettes, stirring hot plates, and an autoclave, just to name a few of the pricier items. Those three tools alone would cost thousands of dollars that a public schools would never have. The question was, how do we scale this project to any classroom, anywhere, and still empower students and teachers alike to collect meaningful data regardless of their circumstances.

Not only were we considering price, but also how to scale this to teachers who are rusty in the details of microbiology. The lab methods we are implementing are methods that teachers probably haven’t used since high school or college, and perhaps in most cases, not at all. We had to create a way to communicate to teachers that everyone is capable of doing these methods regardless of their background knowledge or science budget.

To do this we first made various protocols that addressed how to do the project on various budgets and then we created instructional videos that showed us doing the methods. We only featured the three teachers in the videos, in an attempt to be more relatable. During the internship we created a way to sterilize the agar by using a microwave and we also successfully made soil agar. This means that this project can be done in the following ways:

1. Nutrient Agar + Autoclave ($$$$)
2. Nutrient Agar + Microwave ($$)
3. Soil Agar + Autoclave ($$$)
4. Soil Agar + Microwave ($)

We also created instructional videos that address how to collect a sample, how to prepare a sample, and how to dilute and plate a sample. These are procedures that an average teacher would not feel comfortable doing independently, let alone in a classroom of 30 students. By creating these videos we hope to encourage educators to try the methods that we have adjusted to fit the average classroom’s needs.

I am so excited about the methods we have created, but coming from an average school where cookie cutter science has triumphed for decades I am nervous about how this will transfer to an average teacher. In the lab, we have this bottled excitement that we cannot wait to unleash come August and we are so excited to implement the once fancy, now accessible protocols we helped to develop in our classrooms. However, there are potential roadblocks ahead that we have considered when thinking about implementation. What about the veteran teacher who has a “way” of doing things? What about the beginning teacher who is too overwhelmed to even think about doing a lab? What about the department chair who is too frugal? What about administrators who are strict when it comes to the pacing guide? What about parents who do not think this is a meaningful use of their student’s time? What about students who are reluctant to participate? These are all questions we have thought of and it is scary to think that all the effort we have put into successfully scaling may not work. I think most of our knowledge will come from the implementation of this project in our classrooms and then we can adjust the protocols as needed from there. Ideally, the excitement we have for this project, and for authentic science in general, will swell into the hearts of other teachers, from all disciplines, and slowly, but surely we can make the short amount of time we have in the classroom we our students as meaningful as possible.

When first beginning my internship at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in the Genomics and Microbiology lab, my only intention was to learn as much as I could to take back to my classroom for the 2015-2016 school year. I wanted to accomplish this for a couple of reasons: 1. so I would not mess up the protocols for Julia’s research in the fall and 2. so I would have a chance of correctly communicating Julia’s research to others. After the first tour of the lab and after hearing Julia explain all the lab equipment I honestly wondered what I had gotten myself in to. I watched the videos she sent our team as “background knowledge” several times, but ultimately could never truly be prepared for the experience that was to come.

Julia did not have to respond the way she did on day 2. When we all sat down to talk about the goals and expectations she received our questions with such patience and understanding and I was honestly surprised. Maybe it was the stereotypical scientists in my head that was making all of this seem unusual, but she did not mind that she literally had to explain every little detail to us. On day one we were practicing adjusting micropipettes and one week later we were following protocol on our own, without Julia’s assistance or guidance. How did this happen? How did we go from knowing absolutely nothing to working successfully on our own? This is proof of what can happen in the classroom. If we as educators take the time to train our children well and really hear their questions and ideas, we can empower them to go off on their own and accomplish more than we maybe ever thought they could. Julia has told us that the questions we have asked her have triggered research questions she has never thought of before due to the fact that she was able to view her research through our perspective. I have often said that perspective is everything, but imagine if educators actually had the patience to listen to the perspectives of the approximately 100 kids they teach every year! If the perspectives of three educators has triggered ideas for a professional scientists, think about how empowering it would be for students to know that their teacher is inspired by THEM! Again it is all about perspective and it is astounding how much change could really occur in our classrooms if we just looked at things differently and instead of just listening to our students maybe we could actually hear them. This idea is applicable to not only students but the folks who are around us constantly whether it is our fellow teachers, administrations, parents, custodians, or community members. It is hard to realize sometimes that we put ourselves, unintentionally, on our islands and march to the beat of our own drums as long as the people around us will let us. In that regard, I guess we have benefited Julia’s research in that we have provided an alternative perspective to her research, which will ultimately trigger new ideas that she may not have had otherwise.

On a more practical level, we are helping Julia make the protocol she uses in her lab accessible to the average classroom. We are taking her fancy supplies that she would use for plating samples and finding grocery store replacements that would be comparable to what she uses so that any teacher regardless of their budget, skill set, or resources can still participate in citizen science. For instance, instead of using nutrient broth, we are using potting soil and instead of using an autoclave, we are using a microwave. So far this process has been successful and the protocol that will be developed from this method will change the accessibility of microbiology in the classroom for years to come.

Working in the Genomics and Microbiology Lab has been the perfect environment to imagine how science can look in the classroom. Everyone in the lab has been so supportive and patient in listening to my ideas, thoughts and questions. It is so exciting to go the museum and work amongst people who genuinely want us to be successful and support all of our curiosities.

After working with Julia for a week my ultimate goal is to figure out how to implement her research in my classroom as effectively as possible. My second goal is to figure out how to implement her research on a broader scale. What are we researching and what is the most effective way to report findings back to the lab?

The goal of Julia’s research is to have participants collect various weeds/plants and ultimately determine what type of bacteria and fungi the plant is recruiting. In order for this to happen, my students would have to collect plants, separate the phylosphere, rhizosphere, endophytes, and bulk soil and then after diluting, plate the phylosphere, rhizosphere, and endophytes, and bulk soil for each plant. Each of the four different parts of the plant would be plated on three different types of plates. The Nutrient Agar would be used to grow bacteria, the Rose Bengal Agar would be used to grow fungi, and the King’s B Agar would be used to grow bacteria, specifically  Pseudomonas fluorescens. Pseudomonas fluorescens is a specific type of bacteria that will glow under UV light. All growth will be done at room temperature. In this, we are specifically looking for this type of bacteria. (An example is pictured below.)

This means that my students will be doing real science that is not done just for the sake of completing a lab, but rather for greater contributions to citizen science. This is going to be so empowering for them as students as well as for me as their teacher. Citizen science has opened my eyes to the opportunities that are available for my students, my school and ultimately my region.

NCCAT was unique in that it made me reflect on the potential for professional development: the potential for future PD in my district and the potential that was wasted in PD’s past. I love the sessions with Paul and Justin on technology and strategies in the classroom. I have many ideas from project management strategies to small, inexpensive activities that will be easily implemented next year. I liked these sessions because they were broad enough to work in all grade levels, whereas some sessions were very specific to a particular area.

I have heard many folks mention that at NCCAT they felt they were treated as professionals, and I absolutely agree with that. I wanted to reflect on what this meant and how the details of NCCAT compared to other PD I have participated in. At what point do we stop feeling like we are valued as professionals?

The overarching theme that made NCCAT special was that we all desperately wanted to be there to better ourselves as professionals and to figure out how to improve the education of the students we teach. I do not remember a moment throughout the week when any individual complained about their situation AND was unwilling to listen to advice from another Fellow. To see colleagues go from excited to enthralled is one of the most motivating aspects of PD. How do you capture that, bottle it, and take it all the way back to, in my case, east of I-95 where resources are significantly limited and complaints are at their highest? How do you combat statements like, “I can’t do that with MY kids.”,  “I don’t have time. I still have so much curriculum to teach.”, “I can’t handle the noise.”? How do these trivial roadblocks prevent educators from wanting to rise to a new and innovative level? I hear all the time,  that a particular teacher has phenomenal test scores so he/she must be doing something right. When I hear this I automatically think that the reason why the kids are succeeding is because they’ve been trained to regurgitate information and they are exceptionally good at it. Our job as Kenan Fellows is to take one for the team in regards to test scores and help our future leaders get to the point where their lives are not about A, B, C, and D, but rather about solving a problem and communicating knowledge with others. Academic language is the key to the assessment of knowledge! This is a monumental task, but after NCCAT I realize, very clearly, why it is not only important, but imperative, that we do all we can to reach as many people as possible to aid in the transformation of education in North Carolina.

This week we officially begin our Kenan Fellows experience and it is so exciting to be around educators who are all excited and motivated by the same things. Within hours I have heard multiple Fellows mention that this is the one experience they have been most excited about in years! I am starting my third year of teaching this school year and as a beginning teacher I don’t have a way of “doing things” yet. I have experimented with many teaching strategies, technologies, and resources and am always excited to learn new things. I primarily want to learn how to implement technology in a meaningful way. Often times, we are given technology with no guidelines, or even suggestions and it is through a sometimes grueling process of trial and error that teachers figure things out on their own. When I hear teachers, experienced and new alike, talk about all the steps they go through to figure something out, and finally (maybe?) get something right regarding technology it is so easy to relate because regardless of the county, it seems we are all in the same boat. No one really knows the best way to do things, but we are all just working hard and devoting hours upon hours to figuring out how to make our lives easier as teachers, and most importantly, how to help our kids succeed and be as prepared as possible when they enter the “real world.”

Within the few hours we spent together on Day One at NCCAT we have already exchanged emails, resources, ideas, struggles, celebrations, stories, frustrations and excitement for all that is to come. While apprehensive at times, it is crystal clear that I am sitting in a room with 42+ educators who are willing to do and try anything if it means enhancing their careers as educators and and helping students be successful. From technology, to notebooking, to literacy skills, to STEM/STEAM integration, and so much more, I can’t wait to learn and experience as much as I can to not only improve my classroom, but the classrooms of my colleagues.