To develop early literacy
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About the Author
Not many people at age 9 can say they know what they want to be when they grow up and mean it, but I did! Thanks to a fantastic 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Kasje, I knew I wanted to teach, just like her. I wanted to help students grow and discover, make learning fun, and love them. My love for travel and languages started early on for me because growing up, we always had exchange students living with us. Later on I had the opportunity of going on exchange to Spain.
I have been teaching in the Napa Valley Unified School District for 25 years. I have happily been at the same school site that entire time, Napa Valley Language Academy (formerly known as Westwood Elementary). I love my job! I am experienced in grades Kindergarten and 5th grade and am currently in a coaching position as our Academic Specialist. I have been GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) trained and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) trained.
My passion is dual language immersion. I helped to write the first grant to bring our Two-way Immersion program to our school and was the first kindergarten teacher in the program. I have two children, now ages 20 and 17, both went through our dual language school and are bilingual and biliterate. I think exposing children to other cultures and languages is vital to developing compassionate citizens.
I have been teaching in the Napa Valley Unified School District for 25 years. I have happily been at the same school site that entire time, Napa Valley Language Academy (formerly known as Westwood Elementary). I love my job! I am experienced in grades Kindergarten and 5th grade and am currently in a coaching position as our Academic Specialist. I have been GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) trained and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) trained.
My passion is dual language immersion. I helped to write the first grant to bring our Two-way Immersion program to our school and was the first kindergarten teacher in the program. I have two children, now ages 20 and 17, both went through our dual language school and are bilingual and biliterate. I think exposing children to other cultures and languages is vital to developing compassionate citizens.
Reflections on My TPACK Journey
Technology is changing the way education works and has opened the doors to new ways for students to communicate and collaborate in our classrooms today. This innovation cannot be ignored by educators, but rather needs to be embraced. TPACK has opened my eyes to how technology changes pedagogy, what content can be taught and within what context. Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge should be explained/taught to school districts so that all teachers can feel the excitement that I now feel about the use of technology and its possibilities. I think there are many teachers out there using technology by having students create google slides and thinking that they are teaching 21st Century skills. I know because I was one of them. My knowledge of what types of pedagogical changes can happen through technology has increased tremendously through this program. I am no longer afraid to try new programs or web tools or troubleshoot on a computer. I am also no longer afraid to try something and fail at it the first time. We learn from our mistakes and that’s an important lesson to teach our students.
In my action research, where 5th graders blogged about their nightly reading and respond to each other it was evident that this activity increased communication and collaboration in my classroom. The engagement level in nightly ready also increased. I think if we can increase student engagement while enforcing the 21st century skills then we are doing all that we can for our students.
I used to be afraid of technology. Yes, I was one of “those” teachers. Now when I’m sitting in a training I am thinking of ways as to how to integrate technology so that it promotes communication, collaboration, creativity, or critical thinking. I know not to be afraid, but excited to try something new. It takes time and the willingness to give our students amazing technological opportunities. Don’t be afraid to step “outside of the box.”
In my action research, where 5th graders blogged about their nightly reading and respond to each other it was evident that this activity increased communication and collaboration in my classroom. The engagement level in nightly ready also increased. I think if we can increase student engagement while enforcing the 21st century skills then we are doing all that we can for our students.
I used to be afraid of technology. Yes, I was one of “those” teachers. Now when I’m sitting in a training I am thinking of ways as to how to integrate technology so that it promotes communication, collaboration, creativity, or critical thinking. I know not to be afraid, but excited to try something new. It takes time and the willingness to give our students amazing technological opportunities. Don’t be afraid to step “outside of the box.”
Lasting Learning From the Innovative Learning Program
As I reflect on my Innovative Learning journey, I am excited to share what I have learned with others. I had no idea when I started this Master’s program at Touro that I would become reenergized about teaching and have so much information to share with fellow teachers. I started on this journey for myself, not knowing or understanding what I was going to be learning about 21st Century teaching and innovative ideas for the classroom that do not come from a teacher’s manual. Through my research project involving blogging instead of paper reading logs, I discovered that using a digital tool does in fact engage students at a higher rate and develops the 4 C’s (communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking). My TPACK journey has resembled a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs. I was intimidated by technology when I began this program. I have learned that all I have to do is give it time and play with the programs or web tools to get better at them. It just takes practice and getting over that initial fear! I hope I can convince fellow colleagues to take a risk with me and jump on the TPACK journey.
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