Many of my most memorable learning experiences as a student involved experiential learning. In high school, I learned about Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter while deliberately stomping around the school track, reciting verses aloud with my English teacher. In University, I learned about salmon spawning season by running upstream through a river in Canada, dodging classmates who represented eagles, bears, and other predators. As a teacher-in-training, I explored city dumps, clear-cut forests, and recycling factories with my Outdoor Education class and, as a result, listened more intently as my Professor read us Dr. Seuss’s ‘The Lorax’ and discussed non-renewable resources. I learned how to knit a hat and bake bread from scratch as part of a ‘Lost Life Skills’ assignment, and carried around a banged-up paper mache globe everywhere I went for an entire week to begin to truly appreciate my responsibility in protecting our environment.

 

In my 10+ years of Canadian/international teaching, I have done my best to create memorable and experiential experiences for my own students while remaining focused on real-life skills. Since graduating from Teacher’s College in 2009 (Lakehead University, Ontario) with a degree in Physical Education, Environmental Science, and Outdoor Ecological and Experiential Education, it has been my dream and my goal to become part of a school that places a high value on this style of learning.

 

As a Physical Education teacher, I believe my primary responsibility is to introduce students to new and exciting activities (i.e. traditional sports, yoga, rock-climbing, surfing, dance, etc.), and help them develop the desire and motivation to live a healthy active lifestyle beyond their school years. I use authentic assessment to gauge and evaluate my students’ learning, and focus on promoting individual improvement rather than their ability in comparison to the rest of the group.

 

In addition to training in Guidance and Career Counseling, Special Education, and Cooperative Education, I have an undergraduate degree in Sport Psychology. I have always been interested in intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and helping students/athletes find a healthy balance between the two - I believe it is far easier to achieve personal goals when the desire to succeed comes from within and is not purely driven by external factors, such as earning high grades. My personal research and interest in SPARK Physical Education programs and Active Brains Classrooms has motivated me to incorporate similar-style instruction into my lesson delivery to help all of my students achieve success.

 

I encourage kindness in my students, and challenge them to make good decisions on a daily basis. I teach them that it is okay to make mistakes, and that there are life lessons hidden in everything we do.

 

I personally strive to lead/teach by example, and am constantly looking for ways to step outside of my comfort zone as a teacher and as an individual. I am a lifelong learner, always open to new experiences, and hope to instill that same attitude and desire in my students.