First Assignment

I survived the first class, and it turns out to be a great group of people. There is a wide range of students. Some are already “real teachers”, and some are mid-career / second career types; also a wide ranges of ages. All of these factors should provide for good discussion and opportunities to learn from one another.
The first official assignment is to answer a few basic questions in this journal. The first is “Where am I in my understanding of MST and where do I want to be at the end of the course and at the end of my degree”? The short answer is that my educational and professional experience consists entirely of Math, Science and Technology, so it seems I’m in the correct class!
I understand what the three areas are and how they are used in industry, but my goal now is to learn how to teach them to others. My goal at the end of the course is to have a clear understanding of what it means to be a math/science teacher at the 7-12 level. I’m also looking forward to learning more about biological technology. My intermediate goal is to become certified in Math in the next 4 years or so, and at that point make the decision about a teaching job and completing the MST degree. As this is my first course in the program, I’m still not quite sure what I’m getting myself into. In some respects I feel at a disadvantage compared to many of the other students who already have teaching certification. I hope I can take full advantage of their education and experience to help me in this particular class and to refine my understanding of what it means to be a teacher.