Teaching Philosophy
As an educator, it is my responsibility to help students reach their fullest learning potential by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites a sharing of ideas. Teachers must possess a love for both students and content knowledge in order to spread interest and enthusiasm to the students. If students feel secure in the classroom and connect to the teacher, then misbehaviors are less, potential for interaction increases and learning happens. I believe everyone has the potential to learn. There is no student that I will give up on. Even in the midst of all the life challenges that students too often have to face, they can discover all kinds of amazing things about the world around them.
Green Light Education
Green Light teaching is a teaching strategy that makes academic content relevant, interactive, interesting and highly memorable. Rich Allen, founder of Green Light Education, calls these techniques 'Green Light' strategies; meaning that they offer a different approach from traditional 'chalk and talk' methodologies. "Red Light" teaching is regarded as the traditional, lecture-notes style instructional approach - this approach dampens student's enthusiasm for education, especially science. The best way to present science content is through unconventional, interactive lessons that will facilitate learning and engage students. Daily, my students are up and out of their seats enjoying Green Light activities.
Rich Allen's website [ HERE ]
Rich Allen's website [ HERE ]
An example of Green Light learning is displayed in the video link above (click on play button). Students are learning plate movements and plate boundary vocabulary terms kinesthetically.
Examples of "Green Light" lessons in my classroom:
- Introduction to physical and chemical reactions. I dress up as a witch. [ Witches Brew ]
- "Walking Bohr Models" - We go into the parking lot and use sidewalk chalk to mark off energy levels or orbitals. Students are subatomic particles. Similar to this --> [ picture ]
- "Periodic Chaos" - Each student is given a colored card with a Bohr model. They have to figure out what element they are and then as a class students have to arrange themselves as a periodic table. Colors indicate groups. [ picture example ]
- It's a Dichotomous Scavenger Hunt! Students use clue cards posted in the courtyard and around the outside of the school building to figure out organism classifications. Competition to see who can get all organisms correct first. - [ Lab Sheet ]
- Tug-of-War between classes outside to demonstrate balanced and unbalanced forces [ notes for tug-of-war ]
- Whizzing Frisbees - Students practice lab design by creating lab using 3 different types of Frisbees. We go outside to test lab procedures and gather data. [ Lab Design Sheet ]
- STEMcopes SVA Lab is done outside. During this multiple day lab, students walk distances in a certain amount of time and then practice drawing distance vs. time and speed vs. time graphs. [ PreAP instruction sheet ] [ PreAP student sheet ]
- Speedy Scooters [ example video clip of lab ]
- Picture This [ Teacher Example ] [ Student Instructions ] [ Student Example #1 ] [ Student Example #2 ]
- Rubber-band powered cars [ Zoom Machines ] [ Example Car #1 ] [ Example Car #2 ]
- Introduction to physical and chemical reactions. I dress up as a witch. [ Witches Brew ]
- "Walking Bohr Models" - We go into the parking lot and use sidewalk chalk to mark off energy levels or orbitals. Students are subatomic particles. Similar to this --> [ picture ]
- "Periodic Chaos" - Each student is given a colored card with a Bohr model. They have to figure out what element they are and then as a class students have to arrange themselves as a periodic table. Colors indicate groups. [ picture example ]
- It's a Dichotomous Scavenger Hunt! Students use clue cards posted in the courtyard and around the outside of the school building to figure out organism classifications. Competition to see who can get all organisms correct first. - [ Lab Sheet ]
- Tug-of-War between classes outside to demonstrate balanced and unbalanced forces [ notes for tug-of-war ]
- Whizzing Frisbees - Students practice lab design by creating lab using 3 different types of Frisbees. We go outside to test lab procedures and gather data. [ Lab Design Sheet ]
- STEMcopes SVA Lab is done outside. During this multiple day lab, students walk distances in a certain amount of time and then practice drawing distance vs. time and speed vs. time graphs. [ PreAP instruction sheet ] [ PreAP student sheet ]
- Speedy Scooters [ example video clip of lab ]
- Picture This [ Teacher Example ] [ Student Instructions ] [ Student Example #1 ] [ Student Example #2 ]
- Rubber-band powered cars [ Zoom Machines ] [ Example Car #1 ] [ Example Car #2 ]