Post date: May 25, 2016 4:34:0 PM
I find it difficult to talk about myself in this sort of way, but on this last day at Savannah Arts (Truly, it is my last day. I could have never planned to reflect on my teaching career on my last day at my favorite school...), I have to believe that I made a difference in my students' lives. I worked very, very hard to create a learning environment where my students could succeed and feel confident about their science abilities. We get a lot of kids in Physics that have just come from Chemistry and that struggled quite a bit with Chemistry. They come to me saying things like, "I can't do conversions" or "I'm bad at science" and I work very hard to praise them and show them that they CAN be successful at science. Physics, no less! In my AP class, I work very hard to teach them about environmental science and also how to be responsible citizens and voters. I try to encourage them and build them up as scientists. I am often told that AP Environmental Science (APES) was their favorite class and that they learned so much in that class and talk about what we learned in APES with their friends and family. This is perhaps the greatest compliment I can get from a student. I love when they see how the things they learn in my classroom are applicable in their life outside the school building.
I think I am quite adept with technology and I have made great strides flipping my classroom when no one else in my department or school was doing it. I researched the various LMS, spoke with my Technology Specialist, created videos, guided notes, learning objectives (competencies) based on the standards and so much more because I believed that it was a superior method to what I was doing before and my students excelled using this method. I feel like this is not quite virtual school, but it is a blended method of learning and I know that I could make the transition to teaching virtual school successfully.
My weakness as an online educator is probably that I haven't ever taught a fully online class. However, I know that you have to start somewhere and if you ask anyone who has worked with me, they will tell you that I work incredibly hard and I do what needs to be done for my students to succeed.