Teaching Philosophy
Cabourg, France; Photo Credit: Self
I began my teaching career when I joined Teach For America (Eastern North Carolina, Corps 2000) after graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia (anthropology and magazine journalism double major). After teaching 6th grade language arts and social studies for two years, I fell in love with education. For the past decade, I have also taught at educational nonprofits, the Fulton County Community School and Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, the University of Arizona, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and St. Louis Community College at Meramec.
As a result of my diverse teaching experiences, my instructional philosophy centers around the following beliefs and practices:
- establishing a collegial community of active and involved learners
- using service learning to connect students to the community at-large
- incorporating meaningful learning technologies into the writing process
- conducting one-on-one writing conferences with students
- modeling how to give constructive feedback to writers
- personalizing the learning experience for students in online, hybrid, and face-to-face environments
Overall, I see my role in the classroom as that of a coach and facilitator. I use a constructivist approach to teaching and learning by tapping into students' knowledge to craft individualized learning goals and writing plans based on students' interests and future academic and professional aspirations.
Podcast: To hear how one teacher shaped my love of learning and language, please click here to listen to an audio autobiography for National Public Radio's Intern Edition 2005 program, where I interned with Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon in Washington, D.C.
