Teaching High School


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High school teachers typically carry a large workload. Between lesson planning, test creation, curriculum development, and grading, these teachers are constantly thinking ahead. Because of their high workload, high school teachers typically collaborate with each other to make connections between subjects, and to gain advice from fellow teachers about how to present a subject. To accomplish the vast amount of activities necessary during the day, high school teachers typically arrive at school an hour or so earlier than their students. During this time, teachers will make last-minute adjustments to lessons, finish grading papers, and prepare the classroom for learning. As students enter the classroom, teachers might take a few minutes to meet individually with students, answer questions, and address concerns. Some schools have a 10-minute free period where students are allowed to work on anything they wish, whether that be homework, reading, or drawing. Teachers can further prepare for their lessons during this time. Usually, by 8:30 a.m., school begins, and teachers begin to dive into their curriculum. In high school, many of the typical school subjects are broken down and specialized into focus areas. The general subjects include: Teachers must become experts in their focus areas to teach these subjects. The following are some of the skills and subjects where teachers must gain a deep understanding.Science
In high school, students study general biology, physics, chemistry, and Earth science. Many students have some knowledge of these subjects from their experiences in elementary and middle school, but high school teachers push them to gain a much broader understanding of each. High school biology allows students to explore cells, biological processes, genetics, and evolution. Teachers provide their students with hands-on learning activities that allow them to discover differences between single and multi-cell organisms, such as prokaryotes and more complex creatures, such as worms. They also come to understand molecular properties, such as how atoms are structured, and how chemicals bond. This leads to further information gained about osmosis and diffusion, and how they interact in biological processes. High school students also examine more complex topics in chemistry. Teachers must effectively explain topics like chemical bonding, such as ionic and covalent bonding. They look at atomic numbers, and how the periodic table of elements is arranged by trends, such as chemical reactivity. An understanding of physics allows students to make sense of how motion, energy, and magnetism affect the world around them. In-class laboratory assignments give students a first-hand look at how heat flows from one object to another, or how Newton’s laws of motion affect a moving object. High school science allows students to find explanations for the seemingly every-day occurrences around them. This includes anomalies in the weather and Earth itself. High school Earth science gives students a better understanding of weather systems and minerals that make up the planet. Teachers give students a first-hand look at how erosion occurs and wears away rocks, and explain how the Earth’s surface has changed over time. Teachers who want to gain additional knowledge and complete professional development exercises should join a professional teaching organization such as the National Science Teacher’s Association (NSTA). The NSTA provides high school teachers with lesson plan advice, and academic journals that include content suggestions.Social Studies
In high school social studies, students continue to expand their understanding of history, geography, and economics. Students gain a more thorough view of how the Europeans settled North America, and the effects of settlement on politics, Native American society, and the rise of the United States. They especially focus on post-World War II America, and how social programs and the political process has evolved since then. Teachers also show their students how geographic differences led to the rise of various civilizations, and how some societies had greater access to resources that accelerated their development. They also examine various cultures, and the similarities and differences between those cultures. High school social studies teachers focus on building upon the existing knowledge of students, while encouraging them to ask “essential questions” about their history. According to “Challenging History: Essential Questions in the Social Studies Classroom,” published in Social Education, essential questions address the big ideas in history and social issues. In the article, author Heather Lattimer states that many students have spent time memorizing events and dates without truly questioning them.How to implement essential questions
- Pose questions that bring issues of time and place to the present
- Introduce units by building connections to present concerns
- Examine events further through historical case studies
- Encourage students to seek primary source documents
- Require students to reflect on larger questions in light of new information
Source: Challenging History: Essential Questions in the Social Studies Classroom
Mathematics
Students focus mainly on developing algebraic reasoning skills in high school. These skills become the foundation of more complex math topics down the road, such as calculus. During algebra classes, teachers direct their students to add, subtract, and multiply polynomials, while also exploring mathematical functions of fractions. These mathematical skills build on each other as teachers show their students how formulas and equations may be graphed, and expressed in lines, planes, and spheres. With graphing skills, students also study geometry, and how to describe relationships between sets of squares, triangles, and circles. They solve problems involving reflections, rotations, and translations of geometric shapes, while also computing the properties of those shapes. Toward the end of high school, many students gain a deeper understanding of calculus and functions. Calculus is the study of change, and students might examine how families of functions model real life occurrences like population growth, or how a hot object cools down. The National Council of the Teacher of Mathematics notes that students must develop critical thinking skills to succeed fully in high school mathematics. In Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making, the council notes that unless students develop these skills, they won’t see the point of learning the classroom material.Develop reasoning and sense making-skills
- Analyze a problem
- Implement a strategy
- Seek and use the strategy
- Reflect on the solution
Source: Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making