Teaching has been an enjoyable, extraordinarily rewarding career for me thus far.

I
teach with passion and aim for students to reach their highest potential. Although my
work has been acceptable to those around me, I felt I was missing a deeper
understanding of teaching practices and theories that make someone an exceptional
teacher, a great role model, and a leader. And thus, I was compelled to engage in a
world of learning to be a more confident, enlightened and knowledgeable teacher in the
classroom and lead support teacher.
I have come to believe that much of the knowledge needed for teachers to incorporate
teaching theories or best practice lies within seeking and learning about current
research that is available and collaborating among colleagues to enhance student
learning. If this can be accomplished by way of a professional learning community
(PLC), such as how the UNE community of teachers has done as they collaborate and
learn from each other, then too, can any staff, if led in the right direction. From the onset
of my masters, I quickly understood in one of my courses what DuFour, DuFour and
Eaker wanted to get across about PLCs and what it could do for the culture of a school
overall. It is a subject that is near and dear to me. I have seen first hand, in both the
school I teach at and the junior/senior high that my daughters attend, how school culture
is affected by a lack of leadership and no staff comradery, unfortunately the later school
is in dire straits and continues to struggle. I appreciate the knowledge and confidence I
have gained through my courses as I had felt as a parent and educator that changes
needed to be made and therefore addressed my concerns to both the principal and
superintendent of schools. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, Be the change you wish
to see in the world.
Helping students grow as a learner is uniquely and widely complex in todays
classrooms with such student diversity. Tomlinson addresses this and explains how
differentiated instruction is a way to address the needs of all our students. One strategy
that can be put into action is by teaching instruction to the whole class, then in small
groups and then individually when needed. This is something that I am working towards
as the lead support teacher. I have begun working in small groups within classrooms to
help support students as well as teachers. I hope to continue to work with staff in
seeing how differentiation is a combination of many different strategies. It will take time
and effort to implement but its worth the hard work.
Students will also thrive in an environment that prospers in motivation. Building on their
curiosity and interest, giving them choices, empowering them with self-efficacy, selfesteem and learning to take ownership of their work are all catalysts to optimizing their
learning. These are many of the components I think about daily when teaching any of
my classes. It reinforces the idea of motivation, a strategy I truly value. My classroom
motto once was and still is put the fun back into learning. In true essence, motivating
students through even the tasks that they are given is an important teaching practice.
Unless you have developed a true sense of motivating your students things may be
more difficult in the area of classroom management.

Classroom management is one of my strengths in teaching. Very rarely do I need to

change the tone in my voice or address behavioural issues in my class and for that I am
thankful. Aside from my respect poster and image of a no nose picking sign (specifically
for the lower grades in my music class) Im ready to hit the ground running and start
teaching when the students enter the classroom. I do admit though I have an
advantage in that I am considered the fun teacher because I teach music, health, and
art.
Overall, through many of my UNE courses, I have learned how collaborating and
sharing what I have learned is of most importance. I have taken on a huge interest in
someday being a literacy coach to my fellow colleagues. Help guide them in
understanding the ideas of differentiated instruction, ways of motivating students and
knowing what best practices and strategies are out there that could potentially help
them in their teaching role. My role as the lead support teacher has been a learning
curve for me. With all the new knowledge I have gained I now feel more confident in
leading discussions and providing that support that is needed. I feel teaching is like a
web. The more intrinsic the web, the more sturdy it will be and it will hold up under
severe situations. In teaching, the more strategies and best practices a teacher has,
the more effective they will be in their instruction. Pursuing my masters unquestionably
has been tough at times but worth the journey every step of the way. It is the gateway
to being a life long learner.
DeFour, R., DuFour R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning
communities at work: New insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN:
Solution Tree Press.
Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms.
(2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum
Development.