Experience Summary
I have two years of experaince teaching in public schools and four years of experaince teaching in Christian schools. I have an advanced degree in information technology and a background in English education. I have learned something from each of my students in my yeears of teaching but I think that my first year taught me the most. I think of the famous quote by Nikos Kazantzakis, “The ideal educator turns into a bridge which they then invite students to cross… after the bridge is crossed students must make bridges of their own.”
I earned a Master’s of Science degree earlier this year by studying a variety of subjects. I began my college journey in 2006 with the goal of spreading and teaching a love of books, reading and learning. The goal began to be met at Southeastern Missouri State University. I studied English Education there. The school has a great teaching program that not only teaches up-to-date theories and techniques but also gives students classroom experience. After spending over two years in the teaching experience program, I knew one thing – a teacher is going to need to be more than a teacher to get students to love reading! So, in 2010 I left Southeast Missouri State with a Bachelor’s of Science in English Education and moved on to a graduate program at Clarion University. I studied the newest tools in Children's literature, Young adult literature and researching in the Library Science program. Now that I have such a variety of experiences, I am confident that my education in both universities will better enable me to work with a variety of learning styles and teach to a wide range of students.
It is my goal to combine my range of experience with my ability to be a compassionate, enthusiastic, intelligent reader, helper, coach and any other role that is now required for a career in an education setting. I would welcome the chance to work with you and your children and hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Jenni Arnold
Teaching Style
Statement of Teaching Philosophy
As a student, I have observed that the best teachers were those who cared the most about teaching. This passion is one of the single most important components of effective teaching as it leads to thorough preparation, continuous evolution of teaching skills, and the pleasure of watching students learn. The amount of time that a teacher puts into preparation directly translates to how the students learn. However, a teacher must be able to recognize how students learn best at the group and individual level, and let their lesson plans metamorphose as they interact with their students. The ultimate goal for the teacher is to communicate new information to students, not just memorizing facts, but also to learn how to think. This process can be made more efficient when both the teacher and the students enjoy what they are covering. Combined, these aspects allow a teacher to determine how a certain group of students will learn best. In my teaching experience, efficient learning by students consists of the combination of formal lecture periods, and smaller discussion sections.
Some of my favorite teaching experiences have been when I have been able to integrate both lecturing and discussion components into a single setting. This can frequently occur in the form of review sessions. I have been a teaching assistant for the course “Shakespearean Tragedies” several times. For the final exam, I have developed two review sessions in order to help the students assess the large amount covered in this course. For each session, I have developed a question and answer packet that the students work through during the session. My goal for them is to help them organize the information they have been taught, and to make sure they understand the material at a detail level, but also to understand how each part fits into the whole and to see the big picture of literature. During the review sessions, I have the students work together to answer the questions. When new questions arise, I instruct them to ask each other so that everyone is part of the learning process. When they reach a question they can’t answer, it is now my task to do some lecturing, and help them sift through the material. It is also in this forum that students can clearly see how I have a passion to teach. When helping students through a tricky problem, I enjoy watching the light flash in their eyes when they work a problem through to completion. My enthusiasm to teach translates to their enthusiasm to learn. This enthusiasm coupled with proper instruction allows the students not only to meet their educational goals, but also enjoy their time during the process.