I currently teach 6th grade Language Arts, as well as one section of an intensive reading course. I also help tutor in the middle school's Homework Club.As with Albia, I use the "Understanding by Design" and "Gradual Release of Responsibility" models of education. I also work with a grade-level team to collaborate with co-teachers and discuss student concerns, administration notes, and analysis of student data/assessment results. I am an active member of the middle school's building-level team, serving as the 6th grade team leader and head of the middle school Language Arts Professional Learning Community. Additionally, I am a part of the Building Leadership Team, which is responsible for looking deeper at school-wide student data to help identify gaps or overlaps in content knowledge. We also focus on ways to improve our own teaching processes by looking at data related to the "Instructional Practices Inventory (IPI)" and implementation of the "Capturing Kids' Hearts" program in the middle school building.

I taught 7th grade English, as well as 7th grade Life Skills/Transitions and 8th grade career-planning courses. I also have taught 8th grade English. All of my classes utilized technology with an emphasis on safe Internet use, as well as McTighe and Grant's "Understanding by Design" and Fisher and Frey's "Gradual Release of Responsibility" teaching models. I also served as a tutor to the school's after-school tutoring program, a mentor to a new teacher within the district, and a co-coach to the high school academic team.Outside of the classroom, I was a part of several committees within the district itself:- As a member of the Junior High Leadership Committee, I helped identify different ways to improve the school environment for students, staff, and the community. These sometimes involved identifying students in need of assistance and formulating plans of action and intervention, making tough decisions about changing grading scales, class times, and the structures of certain classes' curricula. - I also served on the district's technology committee. Here, I represented the junior high building in reporting issues with technology, hardware and software needs, and creating long-term district plans for technology deployment for the next five years.- Finally, I was the junior high representative of the district's communications committee. I was responsible for updating social media pages for the district-- namely, the Facebook and Twitter pages. Through these methods, I provided a way for all stakeholders within the Monroe County area and beyond to maintain contact with the district, keeping them up-to-date on events, notifications, and "good news" around all of the schools.

Under the supervision of a cooperating teacher and my instructor at Iowa State University, I planned for, taught, and assessed 9th grade students in both English and Advanced English courses. I also attended necessary staff and team meetings to communicate student concerns and participated in various professional development sessions.

I was a computer lab monitor and tech support staff member for the World Languages and Cultures department of Iowa State University. My duties included the following:- Setting up technology and films for classes to use within the computer lab- Checking out materials and technology equipment to students and faculty- Keeping hourly records of lab use- Routine maintenance and basic troubleshooting/repair of lab and faculty computers- Installation and maintenance of technologies, such as SMARTboards, projectors, and A/V equipment in classrooms