Inquiry & Design
1. Develop curricula, policies, and learning environments based on the HTH design principles (personalization, real- world connection, and common intellectual mission).
2. Draw upon students' diverse backgrounds that enriches and learning styles to enhance teaching and learning.
3.Conduct inquiry that enriches practice and contributes to the knowledge base of teaching and learning.
Helping Students be More Accepting of Each Other's Differences
For the first time ever, I have had the opportunity to teach a class with two autistic students. They are highly intelligent and great students. One is very shy and quite, while the other is more outgoing, loud and boisterous. I am not sure that the other students in this class have worked with someone quite so unique as this particular boy. I observed on several occasions students being mean and disrespectful towards him. After numerous individual conferences and parent phone calls home, I realized that I needed to create alternative interventions in order to end this bullying. Within this narrative piece, you will find various lessons and interventions I have created and implemented with this particular group of students. Through experiencing what it feels like to be treated unfairly because you are different and reflecting on how that feels, other students were able to empathize with my autistic students and in turn appreciate and embrace their differences. This is one of the ways I helped to create a more accepting and welcoming learning environment for ALL of my students.
| creating_a_safe_environment.doc |
What is Rigor?
Like many other public school math teachers, we are expected to follow a certain curriculum and keep up with a pretty rapidly moving pace. Although I love my math curriculum, CPM, I also believe that it is absolutely necessary to add my own creative touches throughout our lessons while keeping a rigorous learning environment. I created a differentiated lesson that met each student at their individual instructional level and allowed them to explore a variety of math concepts and express their knowledge and understanding in creative ways. Based on the level of student engagement, their final products and student responses to this lesson, I was left feeling inspired and motivated to continue planning these types of experiences for my students.
| cubing_article_revised.doc |
Breaking up the Monotony: Project Based Learning on the Down-Low
The HTH GSE Teacher Leadership program has transformed and inspired me as a teacher in ways that I never could have imagined. I have been teaching 6th grade math for the last three years and I found myself getting bored and tired of my math curriculum. Through creating and adding different projects and creative experiences for my students, a fire and passion for teaching grew inside me that has totally rejuvenated and refreshed me as an educator. In this narrative, I discuss my transformation as a teacher as I continue to my journey through the HTH GSE program.
| project_based_learning_on_the_down_low.doc |
