Reflection

Several years ago I made the decision to leave my job as office manager at a law school and work abroad as a teacher. Before enrolling in a certification program, I wanted to be certain, through first hand experience, that a teaching career was in fact what I wanted.

I found a position at a private academy in Seoul, Korea. It was immediately clear that I had a passion for teaching. Here I saw the importance of providing a level playing field for all my students, giving each a chance to participate to the fullest of their ability. However, I soon learned that this is not always an easy task.

While my work at the academy was very rewarding, it had its challenges. The curriculum’s emphasis on rote memorization and advanced vocabulary for students who had little foundational knowledge produced mixed results. I saw the need for best practices in assessment, motivation, scope and sequence, and classroom management.

This experience—both the rewards and the challenges—provided an invaluable foundation when pursuing my certification program. I had real-world insights into the importance of differentiating content, process and product. I developed classroom management skills and strategies to foster mastery-oriented learners.

I discovered during my internship in a 5th grade classroom how I could integrate my creative skills with my approach to teaching. At Reiche Elementary School I began using my interactive installation art and DIY electronic projects as tools for engaging students in a way that took advantage of multiple intelligences, and differentiated instruction for reluctant learners. Motivated to explore this further, I moved back to Asia where I chose a position at a public school that gave me freedom to combine best practices from my certification program with the learning tools I had developed.

During my time at Guangfu Elementary School in Taipei I solidified my approach to teaching using creative technology. I developed a system of hand drums outfitted with sensors that triggered the playing of vocabulary words. Seeing how positively previously unmotivated ESL students responded to this activity, I began to approach my classroom as a lab space for developing innovative learning tools.

In my classroom I now have a drum set, 20 hand drums, and sensors installed on the floor that can be programmed to produce audio samples for use in a variety of activities. In one, I teach students how to give directions using a a video game controller, headphones, and a painting easel to create a “human etch-a-sketch.” My lessons engage learners a variety of ways, pairing visual and musical learning with physical movement.