Experience Summary
I have taught history/social studies in Somers, Connecticut for the past eight years. Additionally, I have an extensive background in writing. I have taught students from a variety of backgrounds. My first three years of teaching were at the middle school level, teaching courses in Ancient and World History. Currently I teach at the high school level. I have taught courses in U.S History (early and late), World History, Civics/Government, Current Affairs, and Psychology. However, I am not just a teacher of content, but also writing. My school district continues to place a tremendous amount of emphasis on reading and writing skills. All of my courses emphasize research techniques, essay writing and primary source analysis. Due to my experiences and efforts of motivating, challenging, and encouraging my students, I feel that I could and would be a very helpful, memorable, and effective teacher for those I will hopefully be working with.
Teaching Style
Everybody deserves a safe and equal opportunity to enhance his or her knowledge. It is imperative that teachers create a classroom environment in which every student feels as though he or she is valued, belongs, and can make a contribution without fearing ridicule or humiliation. Students will feel more confident and will be more willing to take chances if a comfortable learning environment has been established.
Part of creating a comfortable learning environment depends entirely on the teacher’s personality. If the student feels as though the teacher is open, honest, sincere and caring, he or she will not only respect the teacher more, but will also feel comfortable learning from that particular teacher. I have been able to establish very good rapport with my students, and because of this, many students have been willing to go the extra mile on my behalf. Establishing good rapport with the students is essential to creating a comfortable and safe learning environment.
All students are different in learning styles and intelligences. Therefore, it is vital that a teacher have the ability to cater to the multiple intelligences as well as modify and adjust lessons as need be. It is imperative that teacher’s make the necessary accommodations for students with special needs. A good teacher should know how to vary the assessments used in the classroom. Rather than test constantly, a teacher should know how to design lessons that involve various activities that will help assess the student’s knowledge of the concept or theme.
A good teacher also needs to have the ability to develop essential questions in which units are developed from. These questions should engage the students in a higher-level of thinking (using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide). Such questions require students to apply information in order to take a stance on an issue and then defend it. This is an essential skill that students need to master.
Lastly, a good teacher needs to make learning meaningful. When students no longer have to ask questions such as: “Why do I need to know this?” or “What does this have to do with me?” then the teacher is doing his/her job. If the teacher presents the material in which students can relate to, then learning and personal connections will be optimized. Teachers that can do this are often the most memorable amongst the student body.
Test anxiety is a common issue with students. A teacher cannot rely on one method of assessment. If so, the teacher will never get an accurate portrayal of student knowledge and ability regarding a certain topic. Therefore, it is important to find out the strengths of the students. Some students feel as though they can provide oral responses or arguments on certain topics that they otherwise could not on paper. Some students need to create something, such as a Power Point, podcast, pamphlet, poster, etc. in order to confidently and accurately demonstrate their knowledge on a topic.