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Nick Gordon
Nick Gordon
7th Grade Social Studies Teacher
7th Grade Social Studies Teacher
Harwood Union Middle School
Harwood Union Middle School
Welcome to my graduate student portfolio. This website houses my course work for my Curriculum and Instruction program at the University of Vermont, with reflections on my learning.
Welcome to my graduate student portfolio. This website houses my course work for my Curriculum and Instruction program at the University of Vermont, with reflections on my learning.
May 2018
May 2018
As a native Vermonter, I spent my entire childhood growing up in Essex Junction. After graduating from Essex High School in 2009, I tentatively began my studies to become a teacher, unsure of whether or not education was truly the field I wanted to pursue. In hindsight, I can report that with each passing year since then, with each undergraduate experience, and each subsequent position, I have only grown more enthusiastic for teaching. When asked why I became a teacher, I can't point to a definitive life experience. I am a teacher because I believe it affords me the opportunity to strive to be the person I want to be.
After graduating from UVM in 2013, I bounced around school districts, with each experience serving as a stepping stone to where I am today. I've been a study hall supervisor, long-term high school teacher, elementary paraeducator, behavior interventionist, high school social studies teacher, coach, and the 2018-2019 school year marks my fourth year teaching middle school, my third at Harwood. As a 7th grade social studies teacher, I have pursued the impossible goal of engaging 100% of learners, 100% of the time. I take this seriously because I belong to the first group of twenty-first century learners. As such, I believe that my younger self missed out on a fully engaging grade school experience because our education system had not adapted enough to meet these new learners. Now, I begin my Master's Program with a focus on educational technology. What better way to address the engagement of modern learners?
When not working on my graduate studies or teaching, I plan to spend my time coaching middle school track & field and high school football, hiking, camping, biking, playing disc golf, watching TV and movies, playing the ukulele, and hanging out with my family and friends. I live in South Burlington, Vermont.
Questions? Email me at ngordon@huusd.org
November 2019
November 2019
As the conclusion of my final course draws near, I have declared my intent to graduate with my Masters in Curriculum & Instruction. My time as a Masters candidate seems to have flown by, and yet I am not the teacher I was when I started this program. Every reading, discussion, project, and paper allowed me to reflect on my practice, examine my curriculum, and adjust my approach in the classroom. I feel accomplished in the fact that my labor has borne tangible fruits:
I performed comprehensive action research as part of my work with the Middle Grades Institute. This allowed me to build an interdisciplinary unit around VT Act 77's Three Pillars of Personalization. The unit now stands as a staple of the 7th grade experience at Harwood Middle School.
I explored the symbiotic relationship between our public school system and our society, with particular emphasis on modern technology's effect on self-regulation skills in today's learners.
I examined the science of learning and instructional design, synthesizing this knowledge into a technology-based unit. This unit was built around the passions and strengths of students, while also aligning with standards.
Scaffolding Invest in Yourself.webmI learned about the countless possibilities technology has to offer in differentiating instruction, inspiring me to embed more choice and multiple modalities into my curriculum.
I dug into the basic tenets of Inquiry and Project-Based Learning, using them to create an inquiry project based around Cold War propaganda.
Example Rubric
I finally realized that strong units are built around sound formative and summative assessment, leading me to design one of my favorite units. In this Technology & Globalization unit, every step scaffolds a piece of the forthcoming assessment.
I reflected on the qualities of an effective leader, particularly in the realm of education technology. I concluded that though I am inspired to demonstrate the traits of a well-rounded leader, I realize that in some ways I already do. Here lies a springboard for further growth.
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