Portfolio
Here you will find all sorts of creations I have worked on from; lesson plans, essays, Bible study material, and certifications I have received over the years. Directly below you will find my resume and cover letter.
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Buck Institute Training
At the beginning of fall semester 2017 GVSU approached all of us in the teaching program and gave us the chance to apply for the opportunity to learn about PBL (Project Based Teaching) in our next placement. There were only 25 slots available for the 250 some students. I was selected and given this amazing chance to attend workshops and receive extra training from the Buck Institute on using PBL in the classroom and creating environments and projects that encourage students to motivate their own learning.
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Project Based Learning Lessons
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During my time teacher assisting I was given a pretty long leash when it came to the lessons I created and because of this I took the unique opportunity to try out my newly acquired PBL knowledge in this urban school. When it came time for me to student teach I was sent to Kent Innovation High where I could practice PBL with all of it's traditional supports. Below you will find examples of lessons I have taught along with reflections I made after each teaching experience. If you'd like to see more of my interactions with students check out the Out Of The Gate Project!
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CPI Training
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Crisis Prevention Intervention training is very important for teachers to undergo as it provides them with a deeper understanding of what triggers a student to go from stressed to confrontational. This training was one of the best PD's I've hand the chance of attending at BCCS. After this day I have mentally had a shift in the way I approach and think about students who are struggling in class.
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Diversity TrainingOne of the most influential training sessions I had the opportunity to at Grand Valley was the Earning New Humanity. In this two day event we explored what it means to be culturally aware and understand that there are many different perspectives and forgotten parts of our student body. We need to do our best to engage these students where they are and do everything we can to bring our educational methods to them in order for everyone to succeed.
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EDU Tech Certifications
In my spare time I enjoy trying out new pieces of technology and how it can specifically be used in the classroom. For more specific ideas of how I have used technology in my classroom check out the Out Of The Gate Project. Below you will see all of the badges I've earned so far!
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Besides trying out new tech I'm also constructing my own library of things I've experimented with. A full break down by the usefulness of an application or tool can be found here in my live binder.
Start SOLE
Big questions are the focus of lessons created with Start Sole, a mobile app that was created to provide a student organized learning environment. The app creates a structure of teachers to pose a essential/big question on a projector and then as you move through the phases of the Sole provides guidelines for student work. When I first discovered the app I started using it in my 8th grade class on a weekly bases. I was even recognized by Start SOLE for some of my work on Twitter and I've been having conversations with some of the creators of the app on how to improve it. For this work and the use of Start Sole in my classroom Cleveland State University awarded me Continuing Education credit.
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Sample Classroom Materials
Below are some examples of test, unit plans, projects and other materials that I created as part of my education at GVSU. I will not claim that all of these are perfect as I can always look back at these and see how I would like to change or improve things the next time around but I feel that these do provide a good example of how I go about creating engaging and unique experiences for students.
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History Thesis
The Roman occupation of Israel was a very brutal time in the history of the Jewish people. Israel as a people was captured, tortured and deported by many ancient civilizations and in 66 A.D. some zealots said enough. My thesis focuses on the rebellion and defense of the Jewish people during this time with specific attention to the Siege of Jerusalem and the final hold out at Masada. Israel has told the stories of these battles till today finding meaning and purpose in them and allowing the events of the past to shape their image of the future. Further reading for an in depth look at my research is available below.
Education Thesis
Technology is a great tool in the classroom, I'd say I love using it more than most teachers. Tech is still new though and we're still exploring how tech can engage, empower or even harm a child's education. This thesis project looks at the impact technology has had in the classroom and what we can learn as educators going forward. Students in urban schools tend to lack tech skills. When these students apply for college they often discover they are not aquatinted with how to type, operating a computer, or preforming internet searches. All of these skills are not specific to college they are common skills for sending an email or messaging a colleague. The way students are interacting with tech has changed so fast that we as teachers are often teaching behind or with different tools than the kids are using. In some cases that means we need to push to meet the kids in other cases it means we need to pull the kids back because you cannot get a job with a resumé written in text speech.
Small Group Plus Materials
I've made over fifty different lessons covering a variety of topics from; Biblical plants, the temple, addiction, and LGBTQ in ancient times. Each lesson is a google slides presentation that I often accompanied with articles and other primary or secondary documents from around each time period as well as doctrinal statements from our more current day.
Engineering Expirence
When I first started studying at GVSU I was in the Engineering program because in high school I had taken classes on C++, Java, drafting, and engineering both in the classroom and on a F.I.R.S.T. robotics team. After working in that field for a while I discovered that it was not what I wanted to do and changed to education. I still have a love for engineering and some of it's practices such as project work and a lot of the team building that is required to get things done. I will certainly be using some of those skills in my classroom and have already had a chance to refine them even more with the PBL environment I've been exposed too. Below are some examples of codes, games, 3D models and other projects I did when studying for Engineering.
Studying In Israel
After graduating from Holland Christian I was given the chance to travel to Israel and study in the Middle East with sixty of my classmates. We traveled around the country and learned much about the significance of the land both from a historical perspective and a Biblical one. If I were to point to one event in my life that made me want to be a teacher it would be my time there. Experiencing history in the land that events as old as the history we have for that region is a feeling like nothing I've felt before. I want to do my best to make history come alive in the classroom like I saw when I was there.
