Embedded Files
Who I Am:
When I was a little girl, I have always wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I remembered helping my teachers in my classrooms by returning graded assignments back to students and assisting students in their work during small group activities. After school, I would go home and play school with my friends almost every day. My dream since then was to become an elementary school teacher. After having my family, I decided to work a full-time position working with children, ages five to twelve years old. I have been in my position for nine years and have grown a strong compassion in educating children. It has been a wonderful experience to partner with parents and children to ensure that their children are safe and are having fun learning. With this in mind, I decided to pursue my career in the education field and attend at Old Dominion University. It was the best decision I ever made. I am who I am today because of my supportive family and the management team at my current job. I was very fortunate to be brought up in a loving home that displayed nurturing, love, support and growth. My family, my management team, and my co-workers have all influenced my decision into pursuing a career in the teaching field. My goal as an elementary school teacher is to inspire children to want to learn and make a difference in every child's life that enters into my classroom. I want to share my knowledge with others, influence my students to become leaders, and help children grow academically.
What I Know:
I have had the opportunity to acquire strong teaching skills and classroom management skills by working at my present job. While working in my position for nine years, I have developed these skills by working as a Lead Teacher, Curriculum Specialist for our program, and attending professional development classes. What I have learned is that it is very important for educators to partner with families in their child's education so that their children will feel supported, valued, and empowered to want to do well academically. As a student, I can mentor my peers with the knowledge and experiences that I have acquired while working in my current position. I can share my experiences inside of the classroom such as sharing effective teaching strategies, classroom management skills, and self-assessment techniques.
What I know about the world is that each day is ever-changing with learning new information and technology. There will always be challenges to face and problems to solve. It is our responsibility, as educators, to teach our students to learn about diversity, cultures, and traditions. The advice that I can share with my classmates is to always inspire others to grow. Encourage one another to work hard and try to stay positive through the challenging times. One thing that I will teach my students is mannerism such as "please" and "thank you". These words will promote kindness and teach students how to display appreciation.
What I Have to Learn:
As a future educator, I will need to focus on learning new teaching strategies that will be effective for my students inside of the classroom. I am very eager in learning new ideas on how to create and establish a positive learning environment for all students. I have much more to learn to prepare to become an elementary school teacher in the public school. I will need to expand my knowledge on the following: the Curriculum, Individualized Education Programs (IEP's), Child Development, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, and Assessments. Also, I will attend professional development classes and workshops to help increase my knowledge in understanding students' cultural backgrounds. This opportunity will help me focus on culturally responsive teaching as well. I want to learn how to meet the needs for all students inside of my classroom. I want to continue to learn how to use effective communication skills when providing feedback to families. Most of all, I want to learn how to practice self-reflection in order to improve my teaching skills.
The Teacher I Will Become:
The teacher I will become will be that one amazing teacher that students will look forward to seeing the next school day. In the mornings, I want my students arriving to school excited and coming to class ready to learn. I want to make a difference in every student's life who enters into my classroom. I want my students to feel safe, accepted, and excited about learning. I want to be a role-model that inspires students to take ownership of their education and set achievable goals. Most of all, I want to become the teacher who teaches kindness, patience, respect, responsibility, and encouragement to my students. I want to empower my students to build strong connections with their peers and believe in themselves.
The purpose of school is to provide the knowledge and skills to all children in order to help students prepare for their future. I will teach my students the fundamental values such as respect, patience, honesty, responsibility, and integrity. I truly believe in these values and feel it is important that we strive as educators to model these values to ensure a positive outcome. The most important skills that I want my students to learn inside of my classroom is critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.
My educational philosophy that I have chosen is Progressivism. I have chosen this philosophy because when I was in school in my younger years, my education was based on a student-centered approach. I did very well academically in my classes and was eager in learning with my classmates. I did very well on my assessments and felt confident that I acquired the knowledge to advance to the next grade level. My teachers in most of my grade levels assigned group work assignments, hands-on learning activities, and classroom discussions. Students were fully engaged in the learning the material presented by the teacher. I want my students to value personal growth and academic success. I want to recognize their accomplishments and motivate them to learn take on new opportunities given. As a teacher, I will interact with my students in a professional manner by providing support and encouragement, praise students for their accomplishments, and ensure all students are treated equally.
The metaphor that will best describe me as a teacher is a gardener. The metaphor that will best describe my students are seeds. I chose the metaphor, gardener, because teachers will need to help educate their students in order to academically grow. I chose the metaphor, seeds, because students will need an environment that promotes growth.
If a visitor walked into my classroom, they would recognize that progressivism is my educational philosophy. The visitor would feel welcomed and see a classroom filled with many students being fully engaged in learning. The visitor would observe the teacher displaying professionalism and enthusiasm in their teachings. The classroom decor would be filled with colorful decorations, natural lighting, lots of books stocked on the shelves, colorful posters and pictures displayed on the classroom walls, and classroom supplies available for students to use. The visitor would observe students following classroom rules and participating in classroom discussions. The visitor would also observe that the teacher is incorporating a student-centered learning approach to help empower students to develop the skills needed in order to become successful in their future education.
I have chosen progressivism educational philosophy because it focuses on a student-centered learning approach by completing hands-on learning activities, critical thinking and problem-solving skills rather than a traditional approach that many of us may be familiar with. Progressivism increases student engagement, encourages students to interact with their peers, and motivates students to participate in classroom activities. Teachers can guide their students with their learning activities and interact at the same time. I believe my philosophy matched my ideas about good teaching because its activities are based on the interests of the students. Teachers have the opportunity to incorporate lessons that are created based on their students' interest and experiences. These lessons will allow students to collaborate and teach one another. Progressivism allows for students to increase their social skills through teamwork during group activities. Most importantly, progressivism allows students to have more opportunities to build healthy relationships and connections with their peers.
I have chosen the picture above because it best explains the kind of teacher I want to become. I want my classroom to be filled with colorful decor, students fully engaged in their activities, and myself present in the center of the classroom. Being centered in the classroom allows for more opportunities for me to observe my students, assess my students' knowledge, ask and answer questions, and ensure my students are safe while learning.
How I used AI:
I used the following AI tools, ChatGPT and Pixabay, to help create my "About the Author's Page". I used the ChatGPT to help generate the image above. The process I used was completing prompts that best described me as a person. Then, I added additional prompts that included deleting a toy from a student's desk and to show more visuals (posters) on the walls.
I used ChatGPT to complete the following prompt: Create an image of a diverse elementary school classroom where the teacher who has long brown hair and brown eyes is standing with the students in the center of the class holding a colorful science book. The walls are covered with colorful posters. The desks are arranged in groups with students collaborating together. The classroom reflects students' different interests and diverse ideas.
I used Pixabay to select images that I wanted to use for Google Slides. This AI tool was user-friendly and offered a large number of images for one to select.
I used Pixabay to complete the following prompt: Cartoon and School
My current thoughts on using AI tools are that they're user-friendly and accessible at any time. AI tools can be at an advantage for students, such as students brainstorming on a specific topic, retrieve information instantly, or receive feedback. The disadvantages of using AI tools are that students may reduce critical thinking skills, lack of creativity, and may use AI to assist in their writing assignments. Students who use AI for writing assignments may be in violation of plagiarism. This violation can cause severe academic consequences such as being expelled from the University.
This was my first opportunity in using AI tools. It was a great learning experience. The policy for myself in using AI tools is that I will only use AI to assist with brainstorming new ideas or find new teaching strategies to implement into my classroom. My beliefs in to guide my future AI use is to use AI responsibly and with integrity.
Comment Section:
Hi Kimberly,
I think it’s so inspiring that you’ve wanted to be a teacher since childhood and have carried that dream through nine years of working with kids—that experience will be such a strength in your classroom. I loved your gardener and seeds metaphor; it really captures how teachers nurture students’ growth. I also like how you tied progressivism to your vision of a colorful, engaging, student-centered classroom. I could clearly picture the safe and welcoming space you want to create, and I think your students will thrive with the kindness and support you describe.
Laurence Smith
I love that you mentioned you wanting your students to be excited to come to class everyday. I believe it is very important for students to have fun while learning at school, so they are eager to learn even more. I also believe that every student needs a teacher who makes them feel seen, respected, and valued, and it seems like you are doing a great job at that. I like how you mentioned wanting to teach your students about honesty and responsibility. Both of those values are important and will help them a lot as they get older. Thank you for sharing. - Zainab Al-Dhahi
Hi Kimberly, I loved your about the author page! It was very informative and really provided me the chance to fully get to know you! I agree with your what you need to learn section, as I feel I need to learn all of that as well! I grew up playing school with my sister as well! I loved everything school, from back-to-school shopping, to all the little school toys! -Tara Rodriguez
Hi Kimberly, your "About the Author" page was super engaging. I learned a lot about you and got to have fun with the interactive elements as well. I really enjoyed your slideshow and the use of various backgrounds. - Kason Dawson-Thomas
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