About Me
Preparation for teaching
I am grateful to be graduating from Lee’s teaching education program. Lee prepares its future teachers very well, and I am honored to be graduating with a 4.0. I have also been blessed with wonderful cooperating teachers in both of my student teaching placements. They have treated me as a co-teacher, which I am very grateful for; it gave me invaluable experience. Both have trusted me with their classroom as if it were my own.
Why did I decide to teach?
I came into college undecided on a major. It was hard for me to pick because I truly love learning in general. Originally, what drew me to being a middle grades educator was that I could pick two subjects to study at the same time, in my case, science and English. However, I found myself reflecting on my own middle school experience and how positive and formative it was for me, thanks in large part to the incredible, invested teachers I had at my small county middle school. I had teachers who took me seriously as a person, and I remember that and want to be the same for my students. During my time in Lee’s teacher education program, I had incredible professors whose passion for middle grades and the middle school concept sparked my own. I have always loved learning and have loved being able to explain things to people in a way that they can have that “ah-ha” moment. In my clinical semesters, I’ve had the privilege of discovering that I do indeed love teaching middle school.
During my freshman year in college, my environmental science lab visited a water-treatment plant and I became so excited. I was daydreaming about what it would be like to take my middle school students on a field trip to a place like that someday, and how I would share my excitement with them and hopefully make them excited about real-world applications of science.
Cleveland Middle Student Teaching Placement
My first student teaching placement at Cleveland Middle School in a 7th Grade English/Language Arts classroom allowed me to accrue over 90 in-person teaching hours and successfully pass edTPA. I planned and taught lessons based on the Universal Design for Learning and Backwards Design, and I designed a website for our team during our professional-development week. I also engaged students in daily foreign-language starters, based on the languages and phrases they wanted to learn. During our professional development, I became familiar with Canvas. I am familiar with using Apple TV to connect to a MacBook to support learning.
Ocoee Middle Student Teaching Placement
My second student teaching placement at Ocoee Middle School in an 8th Grade science classroom allowed me to have experience teaching, managing, and leading the classroom (with a substitute present) while my cooperating teacher was quarantined for a week. I modified or designed various laboratory experiences for students, as well as planning and teaching daily lessons. I am familiar with the Science and Engineering Practices and their relationship to the Tennessee science standards. I also learned how to utilize a Promethean board to support learning. I have also successfully hosted virtual classes through Zoom.
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