Applicant and School Narrative

My name is Amber Keener and I believe that we can change the way students are learning in the

classroom to create a more engaging dynamic. For this proposal I am specifically addressing the

unique needs of the phoenix Osborn district within the integration of technology in the science

classroom to enhance the critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills of my students. We

will be focusing on how energy and light affects us and how it affects others for this project.

Ideally the outcome of this project will be that students will understand from the Earth and Space

Arizona Science standards, “How the patterns of energy flow along with matter cycling within

and among earth’s systems.” For this project we are mainly focusing on the energy portion of the

standard which is having students understand how the patterns of energy flow work within our

earths system. My main goal for this project is to allow students to understand that in science we

do not necessarily have one answer for such a big picture question, but rather there are many

different answers that are all correct and students will have a better understanding how different

types of energy work in our earths system.

A few reasons I believe I can help work towards the unique needs at this school are because I am

very passionate about helping my students achieve success in the classroom and out of the

classroom. My teaching history includes teaching after school programs all over Arizona

specifically to younger students between 2nd and fourth grade. I have my bachelors in secondary

education Earth and Space sciences and am currently pursuing my masters in that area. I am very

passionate about science and creating content to help students engage and find meaningful

experiences in the classroom. Many of the courses I teach are focused on the peer to peer

experience and hands on applications of learning, which I believe helps keep students engaged in
the materials. Teaching has lead me to acquire many skills such as being able to effectively

manage and prioritize my time, ability to teach at individual learning needs, the ability to

strengthen my public speaking skills , positive classroom leadership, and strong communication

skills verbally, and in writing.

As a teacher one of my main philosophies is that my purpose is to help students grow, develop,

and succeed in and outside of the classroom. One way I do this is to focus on differentiation in

the classroom. We all grow and develop in different ways and it is important to teach to the

needs of the individual learner. Some students may need different options for their homework

assignments that help them understand the information in a better way, while other students will

need more rigorous activities because they understand the material and get bored easily. In my

classroom I want to give students many different choices and options to learn to the best of their

abilities. I want my students to succeed and I firmly believe that letting choose how they learn is

the one of the best ways to set them up for success now and in the future.

I believe that problem-based learning in the classroom is more effective than the traditional

approach that we have seen in schools. By using the hands-on approach in my classroom this

allows for students to develop their critical thinking skills in the classroom. I believe that this

approach creates a level of engagement that is challenging to find in the traditional classroom

where students listen and the teacher lectures. Students will have the opportunity to work with

peers that are at all different types of levels in their learning process and I find that this is very

valuable in the classroom. I also think by giving students many opportunities to work with peers

this allows inclusion in the classroom which is incredibly valuable. I want my classroom to be a

place where we all value each other’s opinion know matter who we are or where we come from.
I am also a firm believer in Integration of technology in the classroom, especially when focusing

on problem-based learning in the classroom. To focus more on the hands-on approach in the

classroom I believe that integration of technology is necessary especially for our first project that

we will be doing. I have had many experiences with technology in the classroom such as

utilizing computers, laptops, and iPads to gather student feedback on their experiences. Some

other examples of my previous experience with technology in the classroom are utilizing it as a

shared google document for all students to participate, a shared online calendar so students

understand what is coming up in the lesson and can prepare, and digital field trips especially

when we are not able to all go to certain locations.

School Narrative

At Phoenix Osborn all teachers are committed to helping our students succeed in all

aspects of life. Phoenix Osborn’s mission is to, “Grow achievement orientation leaders of

tomorrow, which is not limited to academics.” In summary what we believe at Phoenix Osborn is

that we want to invest in future citizens in all aspects of life such as health and wellness

physically and mentally. This is an important goal because the teachers at my district are

passionate about building authentic relationships with each individual student in our classrooms.

By building an open and safe space in our classrooms we are teaching students the importance of

individual integrity and curiosity. It is important to have our students stay curious and inquisitive

because it will only help our community gain a stronger understanding of the universe, and we
are committed to a community that is focused on taking charge of our students education and our

students futures in and out of the classroom.

At Phoenix Osborn most teachers have around 19 students per 1 teacher in the classroom. Many

other schools have much higher ratios some ranging from 30 students to 1 teacher per classroom.

This ratio allows us more time to focus on the individual needs of students and focus on

differentiation in the classroom. It is important that we never leave our students behind and with

more time to focus on the students that struggle this ratio allows us to do just that.

At Phoenix Osborn we value the community which we have created with our students and we

want to focus on the growth and development of our students. Some ways that this district

provides a sense of community are by throwing family fun nights which allow us to get to know

our students and their families more. Along with offering activity nights for families to share in

our community experience, we also offer other experiences such as book fairs, field trips

throughout the year, theater opportunities for students, band, dance, and a wide variety of sports

for students to participate in after school. We believe at Phoenix Osborn that by providing these

opportunities we are allowing students and families to build a community with our school.

While many of our students are young, we want to give the opportunity to students to invest in

their futures by having opportunities to explore future careers. We have partnered with Arizona

Business & Education Coalition to provide exciting and meaningful experiences to the lives of

middle schoolers by allowing them to learn about medical, health, vet, computer software,

programming, performing arts, culinary, and engineering career fields.

While Phoenix Osborn has many great opportunities there are some concerns and I want to

primarily focus on those unique needs such as providing more assistance in integrating

technology into the classroom as this is a school district that does not receive sufficient funding.
The classrooms at Phoenix Osborn lack the proper technology tools to educate students in

interactive ways that can fully engage students participation in content areas. I am primarily

focusing on the science classroom but this peer to peer approach can be used in all content areas

of the classrooms as I believe it would help students achieve mastery on subjects more efficiently

than the traditional method of teaching. I firmly believe that by applying the hands on a peer

driven approach to content that students are more likely going to develop their critical thinking

skills in and out of the classroom.