LEADER
Teachers seek opportunities to be teacher-leaders, working with colleagues to improve teaching and learning.
a. Shape, advance, and accelerate a shared vision for empowered learning with technology through engagement in their school, district, or community.
In my current role at Ladue Middle School, I have been a part of several committees dedicated to steering our school to best serve our students. As a member of the Strategic Improvement Plan leadership committee, I contributed to our building's policies and programs around digital citizenship in the middle grades, and focused on reflecting students' true, lived experiences with technology.
ARTIFACT: STUDENT-FACING DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP CONTRACT
Each year, Ladue Middle School hosts "I Am LMS Day," a celebration of diversity and a deep dive into issues around race and culture in our community. As a member of the middle school Diversity Cadre, I volunteered to design an activity that would get students' voices heard by using technology. After students completed the Code For Change activity, their graphics were displayed in digital galleries all around the school - reinforcing the feeling that their voices are heard, and sending beacons of support to their classmates.
ARTIFACT: CODE FOR CHANGE
ARTIFACT: STUDENT-FACING DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP CONTRACT
Each year, Ladue Middle School hosts "I Am LMS Day," a celebration of diversity and a deep dive into issues around race and culture in our community. As a member of the middle school Diversity Cadre, I volunteered to design an activity that would get students' voices heard by using technology. After students completed the Code For Change activity, their graphics were displayed in digital galleries all around the school - reinforcing the feeling that their voices are heard, and sending beacons of support to their classmates.
ARTIFACT: CODE FOR CHANGE
b. Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content, and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students.
As a Google Certified Innovator, I have dedicated my first innovation project toward making STEM curriculum in the middle grades more relevant and reflective of the experiences of underrepresented student groups, particularly girls and students of color. This involves two major efforts: educating teachers about the realities of white Eurocentrism in curriculum, and listening to students about their dreams and aspirations. This project is still in process, and will be completed with support from Google over the next year.
ARTIFACT: #STEMISFORME PROJECT HUB
No discussion of educational equity is complete without the voices and lived experiences of students. In the hypersegregated city of St. Louis, we often are so involved in our own community bubbles that we do not recognize the experiences of those living just around the corner. In the discussion below, students responded to several video clips that illustrated the different experiences of white students and students of color in St. Louis. When we teach children to recognize and reject stereotypes, we are creating a foundation that establishes social justice as the norm, and equality as the ideal.
ARTIFACT: I AM LMS DISCUSSION
ARTIFACT: #STEMISFORME PROJECT HUB
No discussion of educational equity is complete without the voices and lived experiences of students. In the hypersegregated city of St. Louis, we often are so involved in our own community bubbles that we do not recognize the experiences of those living just around the corner. In the discussion below, students responded to several video clips that illustrated the different experiences of white students and students of color in St. Louis. When we teach children to recognize and reject stereotypes, we are creating a foundation that establishes social justice as the norm, and equality as the ideal.
ARTIFACT: I AM LMS DISCUSSION
c. Identify, test, and curate digital tools, applications, and resources, and share their knowledge to support effective use of evolving technologies that support teaching and learning.
One of the most exciting opportunities I've had in the last several years is my role as a Certified Educator and Mentor Teacher for Common Sense Education. I've participated in several campaigns with Common Sense EDU to help teachers integrate technology into lessons where they might not have seen it "work" before. The lesson plan below incorporates technology, mathematical principles, and engineering software to create a deep exploration of a potentially tedious topic in middle school math.
ARTIFACT: #WITHMATHICAN LESSON FLOW
Although I love to jump into new tech resources and products with both feet, my experience as a Mentor Teacher with Common Sense EDU has shown me that not all digital products are created equal. Many, in fact, only reach the Substitution level of the SAMR model. In the review below, I gave my take on a product that did not quite hit the mark for digital innovation in a middle school math classroom.
ARTIFACT: COMMON SENSE EDU PRODUCT REVIEW
ARTIFACT: #WITHMATHICAN LESSON FLOW
Although I love to jump into new tech resources and products with both feet, my experience as a Mentor Teacher with Common Sense EDU has shown me that not all digital products are created equal. Many, in fact, only reach the Substitution level of the SAMR model. In the review below, I gave my take on a product that did not quite hit the mark for digital innovation in a middle school math classroom.
ARTIFACT: COMMON SENSE EDU PRODUCT REVIEW