My Pedagogies
What makes me tick as an educator?
I thrive and feel most alive when I consistently reflect on and improve my instruction to best suit my students’ needs (both present and future) as learners, leaders, writers, readers, and humans in an increasingly global society. My role as an educator is to provide and facilitate engaging and productive learning experiences for my students, experiences in which they can develop the independent thinking, reading, and writing abilities to be most successful in life.
What does your classroom look like on most days?
Problem-solving and group-based work
Writing and reading
Student-directed thinking and learning
Students talking, generating questions
Independence, lots of student autonomy
I “hover,” watching and guiding student thinking, often through verbal feedback and direction, at other times through written feedback.
What does your classroom not look like (very often)?
Teacher-driven dialogue
Lectures
Students not talking
Rote memorization or activities
The factory-based assembly line model
Dependence upon the teacher
How/Where did I develop my educational philosophy?
The University of Texas (Hook ‘Em) College of Liberal Arts and College of Education: I received my Bachelors of Arts in English and my teaching certificate through the UTeach-Liberal Arts English program.
Abydos Learning International & The National Writing Project: In Spring Branch ISD, I served as one of three high school classroom teachers certified as an Abydos Writing Institute trainer. As such, I frequently presented at district and statewide professional development conferences and am certified to teach fellow educators within the three-week Abydos Summer Writing Institute, a professional opportunity offered each year to literacy teachers (K-12). Since joining Eanes, I have begun my studies within the Central Texas Writing Project, an institute similar in philosophy to Abydos, but different in structure. In May 2019, I completed the year-long institute, which granted me certification as a National Writing Project Teacher Consultant.
Peruse the image carousel to the left to get a feel for some of the most transformative texts that I have read and explored as an educator.