MR. D'S TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Children are naturally inquisitive and love to learn and explore new ideas through play and experiential learning. Too often their creativity and curiosity are stagnated or suppressed by their environment. School should be a place where learning is fun and mistakes are both welcomed and encouraged. My focus is the whole child and although some of them may not always meet their academic goals YET, my guarantee is that I will do everything I can to ensure they know they are loved, encouraged, and supported while gaining academic and life skills they will need to meet their goals and pursue their dreams. I am a firm believer that ALL students have amazing talents and abilities that can be unlocked with appropriate and consistent guidance, support, and positive reinforcement. My goal each year is to make sure all of my students see themselves as problem solvers, mathematicians, scientists, and innovators.

Focusing only on worksheets, procedural fluency in mathematics, and praising only "getting the right answer" robs them of the rich experiences and deep thinking involved in mathematics and STEM education. STEM education is about learning from our failures on the path to solutions and the critical thinking and problem solving that takes place along the journey as we teach our students how to think and NOT what to think. Please partner with us in lowering anxiety and increasing confidence as we create a safe space to encourage our students to become lifelong learners and problem solvers that are intrinsically motivated to become the best versions of themselves while learning from their mistakes as stepping stones toward their future successes.

I teach my students the power of choice while also teaching them accountability for the consequences of their choices. We ALL make mistakes and though our worst mistakes do not define us, the best mistakes are those we learn from.

I want my students to create, create, create as much as possible! They will often hear me say "ideate, create, evaluate, recreate, and ideate some more!" Learning should absolutely be fun and kids learn a LOT through play and hands-on experiences as they collaborate, think critically, and problem solve with their peers.

5th Grade Snapshot