What is your “WHY” for teaching? To me teaching is the ultimate opportunity to combine my passions, learning and children. From a young age, I knew I wanted to be in a field where I could spend every day seeing and experiencing the world through the eyes of children. As a bookworm and self proclaimed “nerd”, I fell naturally into teaching elementary students and learning alongside them.
Area of Expertise: As a licensed K-6 teacher, I have an additional license in Reading. When I first began my career, I worked with a Data Coach in a Title 1 school. My first classroom was in a Fine Arts integration elementary. Since then, integrating curriculum and using data in my instruction have always been my strengths.
PBL Experience: After attending the Magnify Learning PBL workshop, I knew PBL was for me. I began my career in 5th grade at CSA Fodrea, a wall-to-wall PBL school in Indiana. When given the opportunity to use my Reading license in a primary grade, I jumped at the chance to teach PBL in 1st grade at Fodrea. When Fodrea began to transition to a Global Lens approach to PBL, I was honored to take part in the creation of this school-wide approach.
Favorite aspect of PBL: PBL is the ultimate tool for unique learners. It is recommended by many gifted education experts, provides the necessary background knowledge many ELL and low SES students need to be successful, and allows students with unique learning needs to showcase strengths that are often neglected in more traditional approaches. With social and emotional learning becoming more and more an integral part of our lessons, PBL empowers students to know that they can take action in the world and make a difference. It helps them to feel heard, seen, and gives them a voice. My favorite aspect of PBL is that it is an approach that truly helps bridge all of the needs of our students as a whole person, academic and emotional.
What is the importance of coaching? When I began teaching at Fodrea, I was blessed to have “coaches” with more experience around me. They helped me in many of the ways that I get to help facilitators now. They were my sounding boards and helped me implement ideas in authentic ways. Adjusting your teaching methods, can sometimes become overwhelming. Having another teacher there to listen and offer help, can be invaluable.
What do you enjoy about coaching? Collaborating has always been one of my favorite parts of planning. Generating ideas in a “think tank” like atmosphere is exciting and fuels my “nerdy” love of curriculum integration and planning. Coaching helps me hear about PBL around the country. I feel like I get to help other facilitators use the wonderful approach and in turn empower students throughout Magnify Learning’s reach, to make a difference in the world.
How has coaching helped your own PBL practice? Coaching helps me to continue to collaborate with colleagues, keep the elements of high quality PBL fresh in my mind, and reinvigorates my passion for the process. I love seeing what other teachers in Magnify Learning’s network are doing and the impact their students are having on the world.