As an educator at West Virginia State University, I have learned through my experiences and time spent in the classroom to develop exceptional, respectful interactions with my students, creating memorable moments and allowing them to feel valued, welcomed, and comfortable taking risks in a creative learning environment. I have used my techniques as a ROLE MODEL to display desired behaviors among the classes and students I have worked with throughout my years serving Kanawha County Schools and as an educator candidate, showing true passion, caring, warmth, and sensitivity to students as a trusted educator. ​​

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For example, I had to create a parody video for my Music in Elementary Education course. In my unique style, I wanted to incorporate the students of my school. I created a music video and had one of the fourth-grade classes work with me as we sang the lyrics. Then, using my technology skills, I overlapped the sound to the video I recorded with my students in the cafeteria of the fourth grade, dancing and mopping floors to the song we created! This was a fun project; the students loved seeing themselves taking risks and participating in this project. They even laughed when I returned and added the cook's cameo at the end, making it fun for the whole school environment!

 

Another example was in a lesson I had to teach in the same class, where I created a Jack Heartman Style Video with the students. We worked on our math skills, mimicked animals that we were counting, separated the class, filmed it, and edited the video. We used this video as an educational resource for learning by seeing ourselves as we performed the math problems! Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development is an excellent example of how students display their knowledge of the animals they are being asked to act out. Students used their SCHEMA to determine their interpretations of the animals and reenact how those animals would act (McLeod, 2024).

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In my 318 Teach Science course, I taught a science lesson about Poison Ivy in stations in an outside environment. I created engaging, interactive learning games at each station. I used the strategies from Lev Vygotsky, the Zone of Proximal Development theory, and scaffolding to teach the students in the small groups how to distinguish differences in the plants and recognize similarities to avoid poison ivy. In the matching station, students could quickly identify the same pictures, and the vocabulary tells of the plant's names, which are all plants that look very similar to poison ivy. Then, when it came to identifying the parts of poison ivy, it took more intervention and scaffolding to direct the students to comprehend the photo and the specific parts they were looking for as identifiers were located. This was more challenging and raised the bar for the students to need more instruction to comprehend the concept. Still, the activity and environment provided in small groups created a welcoming environment for learning. After the lesson, I performed a song about poison ivy with another educator and the students. Then, they demonstrated where not to go on the playground because there is poison ivy, and they walked away with a valuable piece of real-life experience that can be connected to a meaningful, helpful lesson (McLeod, 2024).

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Each year, I participate in the Halloween Costume Parade with the students. This is not just for fun but also as an additional safety measure in the community. I ensure that each student is accounted for and that we follow all safety protocols, ensuring that the parade is a fun and safe experience for everyone involved while creating fun memories with my students!