1. "...the teacher possesses a deep understanding of the content he or she teaches..." (Nolan & Hoover, p. 90, 2010)
Teaching Social Studies
I have always enjoyed the social sciences, especially history and geography. While attending BYU, I decided that I wanted to teach these subjects, and so I got my degree in exactly that, taking a plethora of social studies courses (see the highlighted courses) during my undergraduate. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and upon graduation, I took the Praxis II exam to test my content knowledge, and did surprisingly well, earning an award for excellence (here are my first Praxis Results). That hasn't been the end of my drive for competency however, and since then I've earned my Master's in Educational Leadership, and also taken several other Praxis exams in my efforts at continued professional development (here are my most recent Praxis Scores, as of 2021). I am also working on completing my NH Spanish teaching endorsement.
I very much enjoy teaching, despite the challenges it presented. Besides my undergraduate experience, I continued to learn and develop my teaching skills beyond, especially through my graduate degree program (see Chadron State & Southern Utah University coursework). Over the course of my teaching career, I have taught a good number of courses, including Utah Studies, U.S. History I & II, World Geography & World Civilization / History, Debate, Game Theory & Design, Sociology, Spanish, etc. It has been a lot of fun, and I enjoy helping students learn skills and knowledge that will help them be successful citizens in our communities.
One project I completed, in an effort to make my World Geography course more engaging, was a thorough overview of several units I designed to help make the class material more intriguing and engaging for my students. They got the choice to pick a country of their choosing, and they then researched and shared their learning with me and others as part of a public display. You can see the entire content of that project here.
I have always enjoyed the social sciences, especially history and geography. While attending BYU, I decided that I wanted to teach these subjects, and so I got my degree in exactly that, taking a plethora of social studies courses (see the highlighted courses) during my undergraduate. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and upon graduation, I took the Praxis II exam to test my content knowledge, and did surprisingly well, earning an award for excellence (here are my first Praxis Results). That hasn't been the end of my drive for competency however, and since then I've earned my Master's in Educational Leadership, and also taken several other Praxis exams in my efforts at continued professional development (here are my most recent Praxis Scores, as of 2021). I am also working on completing my NH Spanish teaching endorsement.
I very much enjoy teaching, despite the challenges it presented. Besides my undergraduate experience, I continued to learn and develop my teaching skills beyond, especially through my graduate degree program (see Chadron State & Southern Utah University coursework). Over the course of my teaching career, I have taught a good number of courses, including Utah Studies, U.S. History I & II, World Geography & World Civilization / History, Debate, Game Theory & Design, Sociology, Spanish, etc. It has been a lot of fun, and I enjoy helping students learn skills and knowledge that will help them be successful citizens in our communities.
One project I completed, in an effort to make my World Geography course more engaging, was a thorough overview of several units I designed to help make the class material more intriguing and engaging for my students. They got the choice to pick a country of their choosing, and they then researched and shared their learning with me and others as part of a public display. You can see the entire content of that project here.
Above is one of the poster boards from my Geography class showing some of what they learned:
Making Classes Relatable
One of the biggest challenges, I think, of teaching is making the material of classes "relatable" to the students, or relevant to them. In my classes, I strive to help the students see the connections that exist between their learning and the real world. For instance, I created a webquest (here's the worksheet they complete as part of it) for my 7th graders to learn more about how Utah's government works, and our current leaders state leaders. Also in that same class, the students ended the year by creating a self-guided tour that guides potential visitors through their own communities.
As the students accomplish this, they learn how to be more self-reflective (through a journal that they keep), and learn how to give and receive feedback in productive, useful ways. They learn about the history, economics, impact of tourism, and many other facets of what makes their state, but especially their own community special and unique. Sometimes they find things that can and ought to be improved, and I provide them the chance to look for such opportunities and cajole them into considering ways to fix these issues. Ultimately, they end up with various excellent products (here are a few examples: it might be a website, or a Youtube video, perhaps a Google MyMap, or even a 3d diagram of the town park!). I make sure to model this effectively for them as well (see: Payson Example). Here is a video I recently created to introduce others to Google My Map:
One of the biggest challenges, I think, of teaching is making the material of classes "relatable" to the students, or relevant to them. In my classes, I strive to help the students see the connections that exist between their learning and the real world. For instance, I created a webquest (here's the worksheet they complete as part of it) for my 7th graders to learn more about how Utah's government works, and our current leaders state leaders. Also in that same class, the students ended the year by creating a self-guided tour that guides potential visitors through their own communities.
As the students accomplish this, they learn how to be more self-reflective (through a journal that they keep), and learn how to give and receive feedback in productive, useful ways. They learn about the history, economics, impact of tourism, and many other facets of what makes their state, but especially their own community special and unique. Sometimes they find things that can and ought to be improved, and I provide them the chance to look for such opportunities and cajole them into considering ways to fix these issues. Ultimately, they end up with various excellent products (here are a few examples: it might be a website, or a Youtube video, perhaps a Google MyMap, or even a 3d diagram of the town park!). I make sure to model this effectively for them as well (see: Payson Example). Here is a video I recently created to introduce others to Google My Map:
I had several teachers in high school, and two of them (both a favorite and my least favorite) ironically both taught history. I strive to be like the former, and create meaningful and engaging content. For instance, when we are talking about early American history, we learn about the 1828 Election, also known as the Mudslinging Campaign. In many ways, the dirty tactics, fallacies, and methods used by surrogates of John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson in that election of yesteryear continue to have an impact today, as they set the stage for continued mudslinging in American politics. Sadly, many of these tactics are still with us even now.
I helped my students to experience a bit of that for themselves by having them pretend to be campaign managers for one of these candidates, and they then began researching their own candidate and their opponent in an effort to gather the evidence they need to use to persuade others that their candidate is a heavenly gift to mankind, while their opponent is evil incarnate. Obviously this isn't actually true, but it does accurately reflect the way that politics in our country usually works. Here's some examples of such videos my students have made: Jackson is Bad News, Jackson Deserves Your Vote! Don't Vote for Jackson, Dr. Suess for Jackson, Remember Washington? Vote Jackson!, Boo Jackson! Go Quincy!, Quincy is Ready, We Got Robbed, etc.
Making More Connections
Throughout all of my classes, I have strived to make the connection between what we do in class to their lives outside of school. In Game Design, we have had game designers and producers visit, talk about the challenges they've faced in creating games, and shared their wealth of knowledge. Ultimately, the students in that class would hold a game night where family, friends, and the public come to see and try their games, the ones that they have spent all semester dreaming up, testing, retesting, revamping, and eventually finessing until they are ready. Knowing they will present these to others is quite motivating, as they know that by doing a good job, they might get some potential customers, and maybe even sell a few copies of their game! Here's a few examples of rulebooks of games my students have created: Dungeon Sprint, The Grand Hotel, Dungeon Maze, etc.
Ultimately, I have worked to share my knowledge, but I am also grateful for the opportunity to teach, because there are many times that I myself am taught in course of my work, and I learn something new. It might be from a comment by a student, to watching students work through a problem, or watching another teacher teach a difficult subject, etc. I recognize that I do not know everything, and I have found great strength and growth by always strive to follow Stephen R. Covey's advice: "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
I helped my students to experience a bit of that for themselves by having them pretend to be campaign managers for one of these candidates, and they then began researching their own candidate and their opponent in an effort to gather the evidence they need to use to persuade others that their candidate is a heavenly gift to mankind, while their opponent is evil incarnate. Obviously this isn't actually true, but it does accurately reflect the way that politics in our country usually works. Here's some examples of such videos my students have made: Jackson is Bad News, Jackson Deserves Your Vote! Don't Vote for Jackson, Dr. Suess for Jackson, Remember Washington? Vote Jackson!, Boo Jackson! Go Quincy!, Quincy is Ready, We Got Robbed, etc.
Making More Connections
Throughout all of my classes, I have strived to make the connection between what we do in class to their lives outside of school. In Game Design, we have had game designers and producers visit, talk about the challenges they've faced in creating games, and shared their wealth of knowledge. Ultimately, the students in that class would hold a game night where family, friends, and the public come to see and try their games, the ones that they have spent all semester dreaming up, testing, retesting, revamping, and eventually finessing until they are ready. Knowing they will present these to others is quite motivating, as they know that by doing a good job, they might get some potential customers, and maybe even sell a few copies of their game! Here's a few examples of rulebooks of games my students have created: Dungeon Sprint, The Grand Hotel, Dungeon Maze, etc.
Ultimately, I have worked to share my knowledge, but I am also grateful for the opportunity to teach, because there are many times that I myself am taught in course of my work, and I learn something new. It might be from a comment by a student, to watching students work through a problem, or watching another teacher teach a difficult subject, etc. I recognize that I do not know everything, and I have found great strength and growth by always strive to follow Stephen R. Covey's advice: "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
Sources
Leutze, E. (1861). Westward, The Course of Empire Takes its Way [Mural]. Washington, D.C.: United States Capitol Building.
Nolan, J., & Hoover, L. (2010). Teacher supervision and evaluation - Theory into practice (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Leutze, E. (1861). Westward, The Course of Empire Takes its Way [Mural]. Washington, D.C.: United States Capitol Building.
Nolan, J., & Hoover, L. (2010). Teacher supervision and evaluation - Theory into practice (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.