Nicole's Page

1) First, I want to express how much I value learning and being exposed to new teaching ideas and pedagogy. The following are practices that I have come to value, but I am very open to new ideas and try to gain as much exposure of the practices of different teachers as possible. (hopefully classroom 2.0 will be useful for this!)

2) I believe that the foundation of every classroom should be respect. I plan to respect my students as fellow human beings, and expect them to respect me as a teacher and also as a learner. All of our classroom "rules" and procedures will be based on respect for the learning and feelings of others.

3) I believe that authentic interdisciplinary projects are the best way to facilitate meaningful learning. I want them to understand the importance and reasoning behind what they do. I am also aware that this takes a lot of time and effort, and seek wisdom from practicing teachers about how to make this a reality in the classroom.

4) I believe that peer collaboration and interaction is critical for a successful classroom of learners. I envision my students building on each others' knowledge, using each other as tutors and helpers, and feeling invited to share ideas (whether or not they are right or wrong) without feeling intimidated or belittled.

5) I believe that reflection is important to everyone as human beings, and especially to students in order to take responsibility of their learning and behavior. I plan to guide my students to regularly record academic and behavior goals, the progress they are making towards fulfilling those goals, and achievements, both big and small, that they achieve along the way. Following the same idea, I plan to record and reflect on my teaching practices in order to inform my practices in the future.

6) I believe that fostering a compassion for others, both in the community and across the globe, should be a responsibility for us as teachers. I plan to emphasize valuing other people and cultures, and will provide my students with opportunities to make connections and impact people in positive ways as often as possible.

7) I believe that equally important as teaching knowledge to students is creating motivated and confident individuals. I want my students to think about the world we live in, and see themselves as important components of the world with the power impact people and bring about change.