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Kristin McGee
Vision Statement
Would you build your house on a weak foundation? No, in the same way it is important
young students have the best foundation possible built for their lifelong learning. It is part of the
classroom teachers responsibility to offer the materials to build that firm foundation. I will be
the educator that provides opportunities to help develop a foundation for students to build their
learning upon. Some of the tools I will incorporate in my classroom include cooperative
learning, movement, and data interpretation.
As an educator I will provide the best learning environment for my students. My students
will feel safe, will work in a small group setting and will be academically challenged. Students
are much more likely to learn if they feel safe and their emotional needs are met. My classroom
goals will be best met and go hand in hand with cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is a
way of teaching where the students work in small groups which allows them to interactive with
each other. In the book, Kagan Cooperative Learning, sources are noted there is research that
validates the need for cooperative learning lessons being used in the classroom. The book states,
cooperative learning lessons increase their achievements, enhance empathy and social skills,
improve ethnic and social relations, facilitated inclusion, improve self-esteem, and increased
liking for the class and academic content(Kagan, 2009). With powerful evidence to support
cooperative learning it is imperative that I implement this style of learning in my classroom as
noted in The Learner-Centered School for Texas, A Vision of Texas Educators. This provides a
set of proficiencies that I will use to carry out my cooperative lessons as best practice to educate
my students.

Since movement and learning are processed by the same part of the brain I will have a
classroom that uses movement to stimulate learning. Movement is any physical activity that
increases blood flow - this could include moving around the classroom, acting out concepts or
using hand motions to provide reinforcement for learning. In the book, Teaching with the Brain
in Mind, Jensen talks about why movement in the classroom is crucial for the students brain. He
notes that movement boosts academic learning and improves attentional focus by increasing the
blood flow to the brain. Throughout the day I will have my students moving back and forth from
their desks to the carpet. There will be stations that will be interactive and I will include crosslateral activities, energizers, and play games as well as other types of movement that will offer
opportunities to improve retention and understanding for my students while learning.
I will be a committed teacher that correctly analyzes data. When I analyze data I will
review the results for my instructional methods, individual student results as well as the class
results as a whole. I will be looking for strengths and areas for reteaching. Jennifer Morrison
states, Data connects me to my students and their learning, pushes me to high levels of
reflection on my practice, and spur me to engage in dialogue with colleagues, students, and
parents (Morrison). Morrison goes on by saying, Teachers will need support both to become
assessment literate and to adopt workable ways to gather, analyze, reflect on, and discuss data
(Morrison). Throughout the year I will collect data and input the information into a spreadsheet
or other electronic formats. By doing so it will show me which students I need to reteach, which
I need to provide enrichment activities, or if in fact I need to take a totally different approach to
the way I teach a lesson. As an educator this will be one of the best things that I can do to
improve my craft and the success of my students. This approach promotes the motto, No Student
Left Behind. Analyzing my data will improve my efficiency in the classroom for all students,

even the ones that may struggle more than others. Also, analyzing data for the current class will
provide a platform for me as I prepare for future students and thus help meet the standard of
leaving no student behind as I offer opportunities for improved success.
My teaching method and classroom offers an environment to build a solid foundation that
gives the students the education that I have vowed to give them. This includes but is not limited
to their learning environment, the act of movement and analyzing data. I will do whatever it
takes to facilitate learning the curriculum and by learn I mean making sure they truly understand.

References
Jensen, E. (2005). Movement and Learning. In Teaching with the Brain in Mind, 2Nd
Edition

(2nd ed., p. 61). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Kagan, S., & Kagan, M. (2009). Planning Cooperative Lessons. In Kagan Cooperative Learning
(p. 14.1). San Clemente, CA: Kagan.
Morrison, J. (2008) December). Why Teachers Must Be Data Experts. Retrieved October 1,
2015.
SBEC publication, Learner-Centered Schools for Texas, A Vision of Texas Educators, July 1997