Dr. Michael Lawson

Assistant Professor

 

I grew up in East Tennessee and earned a bachelor’s in math and a master’s in secondary education with a focus on math education at the University of Tennessee. I also earned my doctorate in education from the University of Tennessee, with a teacher education concentration and a specialization in math education. I taught in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a high school teacher, teaching everything from Repeater Algebra 1 through AP Statistics. I taught different levels and worked with freshmen through seniors. I also served as a secondary instructional coach at a middle school, where I worked with teachers to improve practice, assessment and instruction. I also led professional development through grants, so I worked with teachers at all levels. After my doctorate, I did a postdoc at the University of Southern California for a couple of years. Since then, I have been at K-State.

 

When you first started teaching, what was something that you struggled with: When you first start teaching, you don’t always know where it’s going or where students are going to struggle, especially as a classroom teacher. As a high school teacher, you are given the textbook and standards, and you may have deep content knowledge, but not the pedagogical content knowledge. As you gain experience and teach the same things for several years, you begin to understand how to teach more effectively and where students are going to struggle. Because of my experience, I feel like I am better equipped to support our students in our methods course.

 

Do you have a favorite teaching moment or impact story: During the second semester of my first year of teaching, I did an activity called a three-act math task by Dan Meyer. I was basically asking students how many cups it would take to get to the top of my head using linear modeling. I put this activity in the schedule before I taught any content to see what my students could do. These lessons were more engaging for my students. Instead of just taking notes, students could work through problems to figure them out.

 

Before this activity, I was guilty of stereotyping students early on, and this particular student was one that I had picked out as a struggling learner and someone who would take significant time to solve a problem. I split the class into groups, and they began to work through it. The student was the first one in the entire class to make sense of the equation. He didn’t have all of the math figured out and couldn’t write it out, but he could explain it to me. He modeled it for me with the actual cup and showed the rest of his groupmates how it worked. They were all able to work really well together, and I’ve never seen a kid shine more than that. That was a teaching moment that really impacted my approach and highlighted the importance of making sure every student in the classroom is seen as being mathematically competent.

 

What advice would you give to incoming MAT students: My advice would be to manage your time well. It’s one of the hardest things to do, especially as a student teacher or a classroom teacher. You have grading to do and your own assignments to turn in. In addition to that, you have to give yourself time. It’s important to set time aside for your family, friends, pets and other important aspects of your life. If you’re not doing that, you are going to struggle to keep up. If that happens or if you need extra help, don’t be afraid to reach out because everyone at the university is more than willing to help you.