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- My junior year of high school, I was enrolled to take some medically-based science classes (it was similar to dual enrollment). One week, we were learning about the cardiovascular system, and our teacher informed us we were going to be able to watch a heart procedure being done. My high school had a conference room where you could video chat with other institutions, and had microphones at each desk so each student could interact with the speaker. While we watched the procedure, we were asked questions by the doctor (about where each chamber laid, the function, etc.), and our teacher. I really enjoyed this experience, although gruesome, because I was able to directly connect what I had read and learned about, to the actual thing.

- Another similar experience I had in high school was learning to play lacrosse. I had barely heard of the sport, much less play it. I remember going to my first practice and not having a clue as to what I was doing, and to make matters worse, most of my teammates had been playing for most of their life. However, my coach and teammates helped me and I slowly started making progress. I would go home and watch additional videos after film (where we would rewatch our games and dissect every mistake and hit on the high notes), I would make sure I was eating right, and I would practice until my hands had blisters. Eventually, I got better, and I was able to apply what I had learned in the videos and practice into the game.

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- I tutor a couple of kids after school, and some of the time it is very frustrating and challenging for both me and the kids. One of the students I tutor, is very good in English but struggles in math. This particular time we were working on solving multi-step algebraic equations. He showed me how his teacher told his class to solve the equation, but I was confused at the method she showed her students. After watching multiple videos, I finally found one that worked for me and began to explain the steps of the problem to him. It took a couple examples, but once he got it, he shouted "I get it! I know how to do it!" and nothing beats that feeling. Watching him try to understand and then finally understanding the material was an incredible thing to watch.

-  I had always struggled with math until I reached my senior year of high school. I was not terrible at math, I just needed a lot of extra practice. I could tell my senior year math teacher was getting upset when I didn't grasp a lesson after spending almost a week on it. One day she used a real-life situation that related to me, to help me understand the lesson. I was a waitress at the time so she used money as an example. Of course I knew I was using math when I would close people's bills or paid the restaurant back at the end of the night (rare occasion), but seeing it applied to my actual lessons really helped me understand the lessons being taught. From then on, any time I see a math problem I try to relate it to my life, or a life situation I may encounter.

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- In middle school, I had one teacher who had a collaborative classroom almost every day. Our desks were arranged in groups, and we were encouraged to work on all assignments (even tests) all together as a group. We would then be scored as a desk cluster, and which ever group had the highest average of the week got a prize. We did have individual assignments, like quizzes and unit tests. But for each assignment we were given the option to stay in our cluster or work independently. Every week we were given a new group to sit with, so everyone could work together at some point during the year. She is still one of my favorite teachers because not only did I learn more, but I also enjoyed going to class and learning the new material. I would love to have a similar dynamic in my future classroom.

- I have always liked doing group projects, but homework I like to complete on my own. The first two years of my college classes, I was able to work independently on my classwork, however after entering into the Education Department, my world was shook. I very soon learned that working and communicating with classmates is vital to getting all work done, producing clear and instructional lesson plans, and staying on task. I believe receiving constructive criticism from your peers is one of the most beneficial things to academic success, especially in this major.

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- I have not observed in many schools yet, but my mom is an elementary school teacher, so I am able to watch her class when ever possible. My mom is a third grade science, math, and social studies teacher, and she excels the bar required for teachers to meet. My mom is also a kinesthetic learner and can not sit still to save her life, so her lessons are extremely and mainly interactive with her students. In third grade, students study physical science (basically an elementary introduction to physics), and any time my mom can relate a lesson to a sport or activity she does it! She will also show her students how multiple subjects 'piggy-back' off each other. One of my favorite things she does in her classroom is 'Social Studies by Us'. Before a lesson my mom dresses up as the historical figure, or in clothes that represent that time period, but she also involves her students and gives her students a 'script' and costumes were they act out the events that have taken place.

- One of the most frustrating things about the education system (specifically high school), is that students are not taught how to budget or prepared for the 'real' world. Sure most have the academic knowledge to advance, but most are deprived of common-sense and real-world knowledge. I believe applying more real-world knowledge into classroom lessons at a young age would be more beneficial.

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- I had a professor my freshman year that had all of her students write 5 academic goals we wanted to meet that semester. Additionally, for every assignment we turned in she made us write at the top of our paper what our goal for that assignment was-- to try to learn and understand the material presented. Although it seems ridiculous, the sentence at the top of the paper pushed me to want to retain the information and not just spit it back out onto the paper.

- My Nana (grandmother), used to help me study for any exam or test I had in high school. I get impatient and frustrated pretty quickly, but she could always get me back on track. I remember one time, I had waited until the night before to study for a test I had, and I had thrown my notes down basically as a sign of giving up. My Nana stopped and asked me what I was going to accomplish by not continuing to try; the obvious answer is nothing, and that is what I told her. She then told me, if I truly did not want to pass the class and give up, then she would stop pushing me; of course I wanted to pass, so that night we both stayed up and studied for this test together. Because she put things in perspective for me, she also instilled goals: goals to graduate high school, attend college, and get my dream job.