TLI Capstone 2019
Spring of 2019 concludes my thirteenth year as an educator. I began my career as a 2nd grade teacher in Pryor, MT on the Crow Indian Reservation. As a new teacher I continued my education and added an endoresement in Special Education during my first three years of teaching. I then took a job as a middle school special education teacher with Billings Public Schools. During this time I received a scholarship to pursue my passion for science. In 2012, I graduated with my Masters of Science in Science Education from Montana State University.
In 2016, I began teaching 8th grade science at Medicine Crow Middle School in Billings, Montana. Medicine Crow Middle School is a large school with a total of 693 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. The Medicine Crow Middle School staff is comprised of roughly 60 staff members. Medicine Crow Middle School opened its doors in August of 2016. Opening a brand new school, filled with a diverse staff from various other schools in Billings, presented many challenges as well as opportunities. This was a staff of very diverse teaching backgrounds and at various points in their professional career. This became a unique situation where an entire school of professional educators, did not know the teacher next door. After 3 years of getting to know the other professionals in my building as well as their passions and expertise, my Capstone project was born.
For the past three years I have been a Technology Integration Leader not only at Medicine Crow Middle School, but also across the district. Technology is constantly changing. I am always learning new things to bring back to my classroom! I am driven to grow professionally throughout my career. I have learned from so many other teacher leaders in my school district, state, and nation wide. My Capstone project seeks to continue to inspire teachers to become teacher leaders!
In the fall of 2017 I completed my training and passed the national exam to be an Apple Teacher. In the spring of 2018 I completed the National Certification for Google Education. I truly value the importance of professional growth and development for the benefit of my students. Continuing to push myself professionally has positively impacted my classroom every time!
1. As a current teacher leader, I am developing my understanding of adult learning. In the past I have lead trainings for various adults and teachers in our district. I want to become more effective in how I teach adults. Part of this is communication. I want to learn to communicate more effectively, which involves listening more effectively and helping adults to problem solve. I am working on building awareness of adult learners’ diverse needs as well as addressing adult learners’ diverse needs. Awareness of our own biases and past experiences as teachers truly impacts teaching and learning. It also impacts our relationship with each other as adults. I feel that on some level, we are not aware of the diverse backgrounds of the adults in our building and district, as well as the the expertise that each individual has and how it can be used effectively. I believe that if I can assess the teachers in our district to get their feedback on the wants and needs of professional development and student learning, I can help facilitate professional development that will suit their needs. I also hope to look for and discover the unique expertise that everyone has and be able to utilize their gifts to serve the great good in our district. So often the administration or leaders forget about the expertise that we have right here in our school and district. We need to celebrate effective teachers and build one another up!
2. Chosen Competencies
Overarching competency 1:
I believe that I started TLI in the performing stage of the adult learning category. One of my passions is learning about how adults learn. For the past 8 years, I have taught education classes at MSUB. I have learned how different adult learners are than small children. Adults come to the groups with a diverse background experience. It is important to capitalize on these background experiences and expertise and encourage adults to use this to grow in their own learning. I have lead professional learning groups within my district now for the past 5 years. I feel like I learn as much from the adults as they do from me. Sometimes maybe even more.
Overarching competency 2:
I believe I started in the developing stage of the Interpersonal Effectiveness competency. I am helping to promote a shared vision within my school PLC. I am working to create a shared vision based on student needs and develop strong relationships between the science colleagues. For example, outside of our PLC time, I was able to lead a technology integration group for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers. My goal is to support my colleagues and provide an opportunity to build trust and a shared vision for student learning.
Foundational Competency:
I started TLI in the developing stage of Collaborate Purposefully. As a teacher I strive to appreciate and accept the differences among, between, and within cultural groups. I taught for three years on the Crown Indian Reservation and was adopted into the Crow Tribe. I still maintain contact with my Crow family members. I also work with our Native American Coordinator at our school. As a middle school student myself, I traveled to the Fiji Islands to work at a tribal school. In high school I volunteered at an inner city mission in Chicago, Illinois. In high school I also had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe. All of these experiences have given me the skills to engage with other cultural groups and engage in ongoing self-education, self-improvement, and self-reflection.
Pathway Competency:
Instructional Leadership: Coaching and Mentoring
I initially started the TLI experience in the emerging phase of coaching and mentoring. I truly value the importance of professional growth and development for the benefit of my students. Each year I have tried to take on one new challenge to stretch me as a teacher for the benefit of my students. During my teaching career I have continued to work on adding educational endorsements. After graduating from college with a Bachelors degree in Education with a minor in Reading, I continued my education to add a Special Education endorsement on my license. I then completed my Masters Degree in Bozeman. I have taken part in various professional development opportunities through my district. For example, IT=EC (Integrating Technology equals Engaged Classrooms), TILT (Teaching, Integrating, and Learning Technology), and TLI (Teacher Leadership Initiative).
3. I work with diverse stakeholders through shared learning experiences of content specific professional development that builds the community of Science teachers and has the expertise of each teacher in mind, but also strives to meet the needs of the learners in our classroom. As a district, our professional development is a national speaker that addresses everyone in the district. This leave the need for community based opportunities for the needs of each classroom teacher. I am hoping that a content specific or a targeted professional development will better suit our instructional growth and development. Teachers from within our district can lead the development with their expertise.
4. From the staff in our building to the district wide staff, we have a very diverse group of people. By using the unique background experience and expertise of the individuals we have, we can build community and celebrate purposefully. My desire is to collaborate purposefully to expose and address inequity within our building and our district. We can then create and support regular opportunities for stakeholders of all cultures to contribute their knowledge, skills, and perspectives in a variety of ways.