Jeremy's Teaching Background and Philosophy
Since beginning my career eighteen years ago at Glacier Valley Elementary in Juneau, Alaska as a teacher of the Gifted and Talented, I have aimed to teach the whole child. By this I mean that I meet the child where they are emotionally, socially and academically. As such, I lead classroom activities that foster the recognition of their multiple intelligences while building the trust needed to grow beyond them. To facilitate this growth, I strongly believe in using a constructivist approach beginning with student schema on a topic. I then give students a structured opportunity to interact with materials and each other while asking the right questions to elucidate new connections and understandings. Another essential aspect of my teaching is maintaining high academic expectations (both for student learning processes and products of learning) while differentiating to meet a variety of needs. I aim to support every student to make steps in the right direction - while reminding all that hard work and making mistakes is the norm.
Steeped in the rich bounty that is sown by ongoing professional collaboration and team teaching as a Specialist both in Alaska and Oregon, I have worked with entire teaching faculties to plan and teach school wide arts-integrated thematic units. From this experience I have come to believe in the special power of cooperative learning. Within such a world of interdisciplinary projects and constructivist lessons, lies the interplay between independent learning and cooperative learning. Though a balanced educational program should provide for instances of learning the skills required for success in both environments, I now believe that the power of cooperative learning can be transcendent. I have been fortunate to work with other teachers and students on large classroom projects which require ALL of us to work and learn together to find success, which no one of us could have possibly achieved by themselves. Whether it's the production of a play combining Shakespeare and Native Alaskan Oral Tradition or the creation of a large scale mural on the outside of a school, one thing is certain: this type of experiential learning fully immerses the participants and utilizes a variety of new skills as well as individual talents to create a memorable community event that transcends the normal school day. In this way, teaching and learning remains a vital, relevant, and engaging endeavor.
Steeped in the rich bounty that is sown by ongoing professional collaboration and team teaching as a Specialist both in Alaska and Oregon, I have worked with entire teaching faculties to plan and teach school wide arts-integrated thematic units. From this experience I have come to believe in the special power of cooperative learning. Within such a world of interdisciplinary projects and constructivist lessons, lies the interplay between independent learning and cooperative learning. Though a balanced educational program should provide for instances of learning the skills required for success in both environments, I now believe that the power of cooperative learning can be transcendent. I have been fortunate to work with other teachers and students on large classroom projects which require ALL of us to work and learn together to find success, which no one of us could have possibly achieved by themselves. Whether it's the production of a play combining Shakespeare and Native Alaskan Oral Tradition or the creation of a large scale mural on the outside of a school, one thing is certain: this type of experiential learning fully immerses the participants and utilizes a variety of new skills as well as individual talents to create a memorable community event that transcends the normal school day. In this way, teaching and learning remains a vital, relevant, and engaging endeavor.