University of Maryland College of Education students, alums and faculty share their memories.
“In 1964, teaching fourth graders in Lexington, Massachusetts, I gained the insight that led 15 years later to the discovery of Think-Pair-Share in Howard County, Maryland. I was doing a dramatic reading of a description of street scenes of Italian immigrants in New York City. When I asked the children to tell me what I had just read to them, all they could retell was banana carts. In mild exasperation, I asked them to tell each other what I had read. After a couple of minutes, they all wanted to say much more about the story. From that point on, I placed students in pairs to process information. This experience affected every day of my 26 years working with student teachers at UMD.”
–Frank Lyman, Jr., Ph.D. ’78
“One of my favorite classroom experiences has been the opportunity to implement my own lesson plans with first grade students in a tutoring setting. Having the chance to practice teaching, receive weekly feedback and take formative and summative data was an amazing hands-on learning experience. The UMD College of Education has given me a diverse and close-knit community of passionate educators who inspire me to become a better student, teacher and leader every single day. I am beyond thankful to learn from the faculty, staff and students within our college.”
–Alyssa Orlando ’25, special education major
“While teaching ‘Curriculum and Instruction in Elementary Education: Mathematics’ last fall, my students were discussing a problem that I have used every time I have taught this class and have thought about deeply over the years. I thought that I had considered every possible solution and strategy for the problem. However, one of my students shared an entirely new, unique and brilliant approach to the problem that blew my mind. The moment reminded me that my students have so much to teach me, and that it’s critical to remain open to continuing our own learning, even in our fields of expertise.”
–Sara Kirschner, assistant clinical professor
“In my first year teaching, I was shocked when the student who caused me more trouble than any other came up to me after graduation and, tears in his eyes, hugged me. Nothing about that year had given me any indication that this student liked me. I had assumed quite the opposite. I realized that the impact we have on students will always live beneath the surface and that negative behavior does not always signal disrespect. Since then, I’ve reminded myself that every behavior is part of a bigger story and students deserve my best efforts to understand that story.”
–Paul Myette ’98
“In Dr. Candace Moore’s ‘Designing Qualitative Research in Counseling and Student Affairs Contexts’ course, we collaborated with a classmate to peer review our research proposal drafts throughout the semester. As my classmate Na’eem Allen-Stills and I debriefed in class, he affirmed that I helped him think differently and that he thinks how my brain works is beautiful. As a first-generation student, I sometimes struggle to believe I can perform well in a competitive Ph.D. program. Counteracting this, my instructors and colleagues create environments validating my perspectives and contributions to our research and field.”
–Huong Truong, Ph.D. student, higher education, student affairs and international education policy, student affairs concentration
“My best classes taken were American Civil War history and a senior seminar from Dr. George H. Callcott at UMD. He renewed my lifelong interest in the subject. Today, I am a historian, writer and Civil War author because of his influence. I loved listening to him even in an 8 a.m. class. He is a wonderful man and teacher.”
–Dennis D. Urban ’69
Have a meaningful classroom experience story to share? Email us at coecomm@umd.edu.
Image by Veronika Mostova/iStock
