Being in front of a classroom full of learners has always felt like a performance to me. Included in my goals as a teacher has been to maximize the experience, interest, critical thought and collaboration among my students. Early in my career this included power point presentations but has since extended into film and media, demonstrations, and laboratory experiments. I have always kept a priority on engaging and imaginative lessons. I have used pop culture to explain curriculum content, including a lesson on "Explaining Homer Simpson" and "The Secret of Dating" to explain radioactivity and fossil dating. My unit plans were made early and revealed to students on a "Looking Ahead" poster with the aim that students must take responsibility for their learning. My unit plans progressed through units in an order that was appropriate for student's ability, hitting the main ideas from multiple angles. Having a clear focus on what parts of the curriculum were inherited through the main ideas helped pave the way for much of my planning.

    Though a science student myself, my growth of knowledge in each subject continues to grow with each lesson. This has been of great benefit, as each lesson become easier to convey and models appreciation and desire for subject material. Along with my growth in subject knowledge as been a lucid and more attentive focus on assessment.

    In order to create a method of "assessment for learning", I have dedicated more time and effort towards descriptive feedback. Here I am able to communicate to the students the areas they are excelling in and the areas they need to work at. "Assesssment of learning" has also been an area of growth for me as I have created and made use of tools, programs and statistics that accurately evaluate exactly what the students abilities. Such programs include LXR and Excel spreadsheets for determining the effectiveness of tests and quizzes.