"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."  

- Clay P. Bedford

Philosophy of Education

           My goal as an educator is to invite students to engage in scientific inquiry by first awakening their natural curiosity, encouraging them to ask questions and guiding them through activities which help them explore and learn scientific principles.  I provide essential content information and allow students opportunities to practice and apply their newly acquired knowledge so that it becomes a memorable experience.  

            Students are curious by nature and a teacher should cultivate that curiosity to develop it into a desire to learn inside and outside the classroom.  My classroom is an exciting, student centered environment in which students feel comfortable to ask questions, interact with each other to learn and teach each other.  Discussions about the ingenious experiments of past and present scientists lead to an exploration of those innovative ideas and theories as students apply them to solve complex conceptual and mathematical problems.  In the laboratory, students perform guided inquiry investigations as they test their ideas, collect and analyze data.  In this active environment, students take responsibly and ownership for their own learning as I facilitate the transfer of knowledge and encourage students to reach beyond mastering content standards to become life long learners. 

            Education is dynamic and as it evolves, teachers must keep up with new ideas and theories.  Teachers should embrace change as needed to improve the effectiveness of their instruction.  I am constantly developing new lessons and laboratory activities to engage and meet the needs of all learners.  I incorporate appropriate technology into lessons to increase the effectiveness of my instructional methods. 

        As I guide students to become critical thinkers who constantly seek knowledge, I also advocate for the success of all students.  In the classroom, I deliver differentiated instruction and provide needed

 accommodations to ensure the success of each  student.  I aim to educate well-rounded student and  thus encourage students to discover their talents and  abilities outside the classroom as I support their

 participation in clubs, sports, campus ministry and  other co-curricular activities.   In the classroom, I  challenge my students to think and nurture their  ability to reason so they can apply those scientific

 methods to explore and appreciate the world around  them.