"Learning Dynamic Throughout a Lifetime"

Nothing has been more constant than my family's focus on the importance of dedication to our school work. I grew a love for learning and my ability to make sense of the world around me. I can remember vividly my dad watching PBS’ NOVA, a show about the mysteries of space. My passion for inquiry and curiosity began then and I’ve always wanted to maintain a connection to the newest discoveries. In order to foster and nurture future learning I have identified three goals.

1. For my first goal, my love for lifelong learning is truly the drive that motivates my creativity. My goal for the future leadership growth through professional development by challenging myself to create lessons and learning sessions for my colleagues. I will accomplish this goal by designing and facilitating Next Generation Science Standards NGSS aligned professional development sessions by the end of the 2022 school year and continuing monthly thereafter. Merriam-Webster defines Dynamic as marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change. Anticipating change as the constant variable throughout my life is a mind shift that develops through lifelong learning. I have spent a long time being a student that it is in my nature to continuously seek new information. The love for learning is a quality that radiates in my teaching and through my interactions with my colleagues. As a former student in the same school that I currently serve, I want to model through my own experiences that those in my community can participate in society while being authentic to who they are. Through this responsibility I will focus on continuing to build my skills on good teaching strategies and sharing this knowledge with my colleagues. There are several opportunities in my district to create and teach a professional development session and this is a major part of achieving my goal, by introducing a session concept to the district for future teaching.

2. My passion for science and all of its discoveries are a future goal that I seek to nourish through the National Science Teachers Association and their yearly conventions with like minded individuals. In the past year, I was given the opportunity through my principal to attend the National Science Teachers Association conference being held in my local city, Los Angeles. I attended the conference with two other teachers and I felt taken back by my fulfillment in attending the sessions. I learned a significant amount of information that I was able to share with my department, meanwhile confirming the practices I had implemented were in fact best practices. The conference raised my own confidence in my content knowledge and illuminated my own unique perspective that is still lagging behind the conventional science teaching that is prevalent in the obsolete 2003 state standards. In the conference, I participated in many sessions with educators from throughout the United States which provided insight on the need among teachers to gain scientific knowledge and best practices to bridge the gap between equitable education in our most needy student populations. I will meet this goal by continuing my NSTA membership and teach my own session at a local conference in the future.

3. In pursuing my graduate degree, I anticipate utilizing my newfound knowledge to transition into professional leadership roles to further my impact on high quality science education in the most vulnerable communities synthesizing my experiences into a goal for future teaching. Breaking the trend of an underrepresented culturally diverse scientist is necessary in order to build confidence in our youth to seek Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, STEM, careers. Moving into a leadership role within my district will help me meet this goal of developing high quality differentiated learning experiences. Meeting this goal will require coordination, collaboration among local resources, dedication to growth, and investment in our community among my department initially then branching out to the school and district. I can anticipate fulfilling this goal by becoming our district’s first science Teacher On Special Assignment (TOSA), a position which currently does not exist.

Inevitably, the responsibility of each science teacher is witnessed through our current global pandemic and a failure to our students signifies generational impacts. This impact drives my motivation to put my best in everything I design. My last goal hits close to home because I am currently teaching at the middle school I attended. For me, this work is personal because our student population is historically underrepresented in the STEM fields. Failing to design high quality science lessons is an equity issue that plagues the most needy communities.