From Theory to Practice

Teaching is my passion, and although my philosophy continues

to expand and evolve, it is deeply rooted in constructivism.
Whether working with children or adults, I provide a rich and
supportive environment where students take ownership of the
learning process. In my classroom, learners are busy:
choosing, planning, discussing, and creating artifacts that
demonstrate their learning. I am there to facilitate by
providing material and asking questions that guide students
from current levels of understanding toward deeper levels of
thinking. I get immeasurable satisfaction when that lightbulb
goes off and something “clicks” for a student.
What is Constructivism?
I’ve always been fascinated by the science and art of learning. One of my favorite children’s authors,
In teacher prep courses at Arizona State University, I was a Leo Lionni, illustrates the idea of knowledge
sponge- soaking up ideas and using them to design my own construction so beautifully in his story, Fish
“ideal” classroom based upon research and learning theory. is Fish. In essence, the Frog comes back
Fueled by the work of Piaget, Vygotsky, Bloom, Gardner, and from land and relates all this new
Wong (and an over-active imagination), I was ready to single- information about birds and cows and
handedly reform public education. However, during my people to the Fish. Hilariously, the Fish can
only relate these new concepts within the
student teaching experience, reality reared its horrible head.
context of what he already knows.
Politics, poor mentoring, standardized testing, and other issues
kept getting in my way. The idealist in me was shocked.

A Teacher of Teachers
Although the undergraduate program at ASU helped me to prepare and my professors were phenomenal, that
first year of teaching was still extremely difficult. Ever since then, I’ve made it a personal mission to help
teachers avoid this initial shock by preparing them for the demands of classroom teaching. I’ve shared
teaching documents with dozens of individuals and developed a website: The Survival Guide for First-Year
Teachers. The excitement of a new teacher is a powerful thing. These individuals are motivated by a genuine
love for children and are eager to develop their creative ideas for classroom instruction. As a teacher
educator, my goal is to add a touch of realism to their dream classrooms without dampening that enthusiasm.

I want students to leave my classes with the necessary knowledge, skills, and perspectives for success.
Learning theory becomes ingrained within their teaching practice, but I also give them practical assignments:
portfolios and projects that they will be able to use with children in their classrooms. When my teachers
leave, they are ready for the job. They are prepared to effectively manage classroom behavior, design
engaging curriculum and lesson plans, and authentically assess student growth. They are able to critically
reflect and revise their own teaching methods to better meet the needs of diverse learners.

Getting to Know One Another

When launching a course, I take the time to learn what engages students and drives them to persist, often by
conducting a needs assessment via survey to help me tailor the instruction to their needs and interests. At
this point in life, students know more about their own strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles or
preferences. I like to have each student create a personal profile page within the online learning environment
during the first week. Here, the learner can create an online presence, develop course goals, and cultivate
belonging through student interaction. We might begin with a video assignment that asks students to
introduce themselves, share prior life experiences, and define current perspectives as a starting point. To help
establish initial trust, I ask them to describe two learning goals for the course and one anticipated challenge so
that they realize that it’s okay to “not know yet” and that there is room to grow. I want students to personally
connect with the course material and build connections with other students. In my responses, I validate their
experiences to cultivate comfort and mutual understanding. This enables them to openly share their social
identities and bring their whole selves to the classroom.

Self-directed Learners
My students appreciate the freedom of choice and are capable of choosing, planning, conducting, and
evaluating their own learning. Self-directed learning projects intrinsically motivate students to pursue topics
of personal interest while exploring problems within real-world contexts. Critical thinking, self-reflection and
journaling help students to evaluate progress, and adjust or create new goals as needed. Rather than
depending solely upon me for direction and validation, I use strategies to guide leaners toward self-reliance.
Students in my courses keep a lifelong learning log where they can set course goals, locate resources, and
track progress. I use rubrics to set clear expectations and provide some learning objectives, but it’s the
student’s job to learn how to learn through this process of self-reflection.

21st Century Course Structure

I leverage technology, blending face-to-face and online components to flip my classroom. “Death by
PowerPoint” is not an effective teaching strategy, and I do not expect my students to passively absorb
knowledge from a long-winded lecture. Instead, students spend time outside of class on pre-session surveys,
readings, videos, quizzes, and writing assignments that take the place of a traditional in-class lecture. I draw
from a variety of resources available on the internet to help students build knowledge and comprehension. I
include articles and blogs from real teachers in the field alongside primary sources and field experts to
enhance this experience. When students can clarify their thinking about subject matter before coming to
class, we have richer discussions during class sessions. This is especially for those who are introverted or
reluctant to speak up. A flipped approach gives them tome to formulate their ideas in advance.

During class time, we engage in activities that promote learning by focusing on the higher forms of cognitive
work. Students internalize concepts through experience, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation with
the support and feedback from both myself and peers. For example, in my classroom management course, I
use Mentimeter to increase engagement and participation during the lecture portion. After that, we role play
case studies and take turns acting as “misbehaving” children to practice behavior management strategies. I
also experiment with jigsaw grouping and movement strategies to increase participation. Students in my class
often work on collaborative group presentations where they become the experts and teach the whole class.

When I do lecture, I use my instructional design skills to create streamlined content, using a direct writing
style, powerful imagery, and humor. I draw from current events, film, music, art, and pop culture. If it’s
relevant you might find The Far Side, The Simpsons, or Calvin & Hobbes in my lecture slides, along with
internet memes. I also employ the elements of surprise, play, fun, and novelty by starting with a questions or
activity first. For example, it’s more interesting to start with predictions rather than reveal answers right off
the bat. In my course on Multicultural Art and Children’s Literature, I start by explain how the Cooperative
Children’s Book Center recently analyzed the content of 3,134 children’s books that were published in 2018.
Then, I ask students to estimate the percentage of books that feature animals or children from each of the
following backgrounds: Latinx, African/African American, American Indian/First Nation, White, and Asian
Pacific Islander/Asian Pacific American. Students are often quite surprised when comparing these estimates
with actual data. The discussion that follows is much richer and more relevant when beginning with a
question rather than just dispensing this information on a slide.
 To maintain interest, my content is
organized into twenty minute
sections. I weave interactive features
into the lecture, using Mentimenter
or clickers to activate prior
knowledge and establish personal
relevance by asking for examples
from students. As a researcher, I
enjoy conducting surveys and
collecting data, and I occasionally
conduct real-time social experiments
during class. Most importantly, I
break up lecture time with
experiential activities. The students
need to spend as much time talking
as I do.

Relevant Assignments
My teachers want to create products that they can use later in the field. I tailor projects and assignments to
individual outcomes, making the course more relevant to the learner’s life situation and future goals. I like to
give them options for assignments and assessments. For example, I might allow students to either submit a
response in written or video format on the discussion board. Or for a final assignment, some students might
choose to write a description of their plan for literacy centers while others might prefer to create a vision
board and explain their ideas verbally. I like giving students space to take creative ownership. Either way, I
use a rubric to ensure that learning objectives are met.

As in real life, many of our activities cross discipline boundaries and can be applied to any subject. We often do
the same activities they can do with kids later in the classroom. If teachers have a chance to experience a
strategy from a learner’s perspective, they will be more likely to internalize it. For example, we might take a
gallery walk to activate prior knowledge before class or utilize a think, pair, share approach to enhance
discussion.

In Multicultural Art and Children’s Literature, we approach literacy from an art perspective, where each
project highlights the processes that illustrators use in picture books rather than copying their final products.
At the end of the course, students walk away with a binder of samples for open-ended art lessons that are
linked to children’s literature. Students also choose an author or illustrator to research and design and a three
week unit, with fully developed lesson plans that they can use with students in the classroom.

Reflective Assessment and Individualized Feedback

My students focus on the cognitive process of learning through self-reflection, self-evaluation, and detailed
feedback. I utilize rubrics for portfolio work but also provided extensive written responses. I strive to develop
a robust dialogue between myself and the individual student by using the track changes feature to comment
and ask questions within documents. I employ intentional questioning strategies that scaffold learning and
cause cognitive conflict, guiding students to think more deeply, inspiring growth and change. In this way, I can
document both formal and informal evidence of learning. The final assessment for my classroom
management course requires that students videotape themselves during a 30 minute lesson. Students will
review the tape and fill out a reflection form. After I view the tape, I will meet with the student as a coach to
review performance, listen, and discussing changes. In this way, students begin to see that teaching is an
ongoing iterative process and that the best teachers can “read the room” and self-correct to adapt teaching
mid-flight when necessary.

Social Learning Communities

Within my learning communities, we value individual students and welcome the opportunity to learn from the
inclusion of multiple perspectives. Students utilize forums and discussion board questions to help one another
and develop a personal learning network. They access, create, and share multimedia content using social
media or collaborative online tools such as GSuite or Dropbox. In this way, they create a web of formal and
informal learning interactions, rather than passively consuming content. As professor, I monitor and respond
to their interactions, but also careful to recognize when to lead, when to observe, when to let others lead and
respond to each other.

Culturally Responsive Context

When I get to know my students as individual people on a personal level, I gain insights as to the barriers that
may affect performance. I realize that my students may have other responsibilities and priorities that may
take precedence. They may need to balance course work with family life and may have children of their own.
Some individuals may have full or part-time employment. Other life situations come with a wide range of
economic and time constraints. With this in mind, I develop clear criteria and break assignments into smaller
components that build upon one another. This strategy sets students up for success.

I am also mindful of other considerations that may influence student performance. These include, but are not
limited to: culture, socioeconomic status, gender, morals, values, and spiritual beliefs. Acceptance and
understanding of diversity and appreciation of individual student backgrounds will make me better prepared
to provide equitable learning experiences. I make the effort to be approachable by learning student names
quickly and getting to know them. When students do experience difficulty, they know they can come to me
for help because I am genuinely invested in their growth and success.

Symbiotic Relationships
Above all else, my learners deserve to be treated as equals. Learning is interdependent and we can all learn
from each other. In getting to know the students as individuals, we make valuable connections that inform us
about ourselves, the human condition, and the world we are living in. For example, I always assign points to
end of course evaluation. I genuinely want to know what students enjoyed, what they found valuable, and
what assignments could be removed or changed. I use this to look for patterns, evaluate the effectiveness of
my teaching, and improve my course for the next batch of students. As educators, these insights can serve as
a guide in pursuing educational reform and the progressive social change our society needs as it evolves over
time.

Professional Development
Humility, humor, and warmth are personal attributes that allow me to grow as an instructor. I am always
willing to share control of learning, and willing to learn from the feedback of my students to evaluate the
effectiveness of my learning materials and teaching strategies. Rather than stagnate as a lecturer, I am
constantly growing as a facilitator and have much to learn from my own students. I also enjoy collaborating
with colleagues to develop innovative learning experiences that merge disciplines in a creative way.

My ultimate goal is to act as an agent of change, supporting the personal and professional growth of others to
contribute to something greater than myself. I want to support new teachers and prevent them from feeling
“lost”, "overwhelmed", "exhausted", and "unprepared". I want them to enter their new classrooms feeling
confident and connected to the profession. Together with other teacher educators in my community, I would
like to build teacher preparation programs that bring out the best in new teachers and elevate the teaching
profession.