Teaching & Learning

Q. Providing professional development to peers and colleagues requires a different skill set than teaching a group of students. What is your experience in the instructional or classroom setting?

A. As an instructional librarian, I developed face-to-face instruction for all students (grades 6-8) on library services at the beginning of each school year during the Fall semester. As the year progressed, additional instruction was provided, based on teacher request but primarily in core-area courses, focusing on research practices, evaluating online resources, how to use online databases, digital citizenship, and more. Depending on the teacher's students' needs, instruction on core skills in information literacy were provided to students - i.e., dictionary skills, using print resources, and anatomy of a (nonfiction) book. As Literature classes began new novels, I collaborated with the teacher to develop and present a historical and/or philosophical lesson for the text and a launch activity to help students become engaged in the topic, priming them for active participation.

As a classroom teacher, I have implemented a varied of instructional practices over the years. My varied course load and diverse student enrollment always provided opportunities for exploration and innovation. As an elective teacher, my classrooms were populated with students in 9-12, native and non-native speakers, students interested in a career in my course pathway (Business), as well as gifted, dyslexic, learning disabled, and average - in the same section. This helped me hone my skills at differentiated instruction, the ability to shift gears mid-lesson, adjust teaching and assessment based on students' performance, and implement techniques to encourage active participation.

[My instructional course load over the years has included Telecommunications & Networking, Banking & Finance, Business Computer Information Systems / Business Information Management I, Keyboarding, Business Law, Business Administration & Management, Computer Science A, Business Computer Programming, AP Computer Science Principles, Business Ventures & Career Exploration.]

In more recent years, I have provided my classes a dual face-to-face and online learning platform. The online platforms allows for students to communicate in a bulletin-board discussion environment, to complete and upload projects, take quizzes, access shared resources and receive reminders in a 24/7 environment. Students were also to collaborate through assigned groups and share documents – either in the online classroom environment or through the district’s Office 365 subscription. Through the platform I was also able to provide individualized instruction based on students’ needs.