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I have tutored one-on-one for the past five summers. I love tutoring because I get to form strong relationships with my students I work with and plan customized mini-lessons just for them according to their specific interests. I have tutored students from grades K-4th grade in math, reading, and writing.

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CLICK HERE for a brochure that gives a closer look of who I am!

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Since I started student teaching and experienced being in a classroom full time with my students, I have narrowed down my beliefs and what sort of flow I will have for my future classroom.

1) Self-Directed Learning: I plan to implement The Daily 5 with my future students. I believe that my students all have the ability to self-direct their own learning. It gives students a sense of responsibility and ownership. This also gives my students an opportunity to respect me as the teacher, as well as themselves and their peers.

2)  Flexible/Alternative Seating: I do not want my students to have assigned spots in our room with desks. I also will not hog the room with a large space for my desk. This is OUR room, not just my room. I want my students to have a sense of comfort when they enter our room. Thus, I will use flexible/alternative seating with a strategic rotation chart and management plan.  I believe that students should not be sitting still in desks the whole day, and they should be able to be comfortable while working. For example, I think this would allow my writing workshop to run smoothly, giving students the freedom to get comfortable so they may think creatively. Flexible/Alternative Seating will also allow my students to collaborate and learn from each other in groups, giving them meeting spaces to work in.

3) Star Scientist: To give my students a shining moment in our room, I will have one student be a Star Scientist of the week - in which they will share about their personal life and their favorite food, color, activity, etc., including an opportunity to host their own science experiment. Letters will be sent home to the parents explaining that they may come in and help their child with hosting a hands-on science experiment for the class. This allows parent involvement, student recognition, and time for science in our classroom.

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I was involved as a backstage director for the fifth grade play - Puss In Boots - for two months. It was a great experience seeing students gain confidence and appreciation for literature in a creative way.

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I like to hold science class outside as much as I can, because science is everywhere, not just in the classroom.

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I like to include STEM activities during the week whenever we can. Here is an example of my students working on a Valentine's Day STEM activity in teams.

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Student Teaching: Gateway North Elementary, St. Johns, MI 2017

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Student Teaching: Gateway North Elementary, St. Johns, MI 2017

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I am currently student teaching at Gateway North Elementary, of St. Johns, MI in a fourth grade classroom. My school is within a low socio-economic status neighborhood, with many of my students struggling with a rough home life. Four of my students receive special education help, with a couple in the evaluation process, as well as about a third of my students struggle with Attention Deficient Disorder, and one with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  Despite my students' personal struggles that make some days in the classroom very rough, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I love my students for who they are because I have learned so much more from them than they have probably learned from me.

The most important lessons I have learned from my student teaching experience are to be very well-planned for the week, accept when my students do not understand a concept, and classroom management is one of the most important parts of teaching.

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Los Angeles NSTA National Conference 2017

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Los Angeles NSTA National Conference 2017

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Portland, Oregon NSTA Regional Conference 2016

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Portland, Oregon NSTA Regional Conference 2016

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Kansas City NSTA Regional Conference 2016

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Kansas City NSTA Regional Conference 2016

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I have had the unique opportunity to travel the country, presenting at four NSTA conferences. The national conference in Chicago, two regional conferences in Kansas City and Portland, and my final national conference in Los Angeles. I have presented a total of six times, five of those being Share-A-Thons, with my largest session being over 1,000 people. Each session gives me the opportunity to network and bounce ideas off of one another from teachers all over the country. I have learned as much from them as they have from me visiting my booth.

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Family Science Night at Mary Ellen Elementary

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In addition to Family Science Nights, I pioneered Science Hour events. These events involved close contact with local middle schools and high schools in the Mt. Pleasant area. We had the pleasure of visiting West Intermediate and Beal City for the day, teaching science lessons and demos for students to explore at the secondary level. This was out of my comfort zone for me, as most of my experience was working with elementary students. But I saw it was necessary for my peer NSTA members to have secondary level experience as much as us elementary level members had with Family Science Nights. Thus, I created Science Hours.

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Science Hour at Beal City Public Schools

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As the NSTA President on CMU's campus, I was responsible for coordinating Family Science Night events with local elementary schools in the Mt. Pleasant District. Family Science Nights are after school events that welcome parents and their students to visit their school for a fun night of science with NSTA college students members.

I had the pleasure of working with eight elementary schools, coordinating Family Science Nights for students from grades K-6th grade.

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Clinton County RESA Early Childhood Education 2010

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Clinton County RESA Early Childhood Education 2010

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March 2017, I was awarded the Muriel Green Award from the Council of Science Education International while at a National Science Teachers Association Conference in Los Angeles. I pursued this award because it offered recognition and a two year membership to the affiliation. I love being involved in extra curricular groups and activities. The membership with CESI was important to me because some of the most elite science teachers are members. Getting to network with those people is valuable to me.

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Quite possibly the best thing I have ever done in my life was study abroad in Ireland for my pre-student teaching experience, and travel Europe afterward with my life long teaching friends. I pre-student taught in a "second class" room, which would be about third grade here in the United States. My students attended a private Catholic School, so we spent a lot of our time practicing their First Holy Communion. I taught a lesson with base ten addition and subtraction, as well as using manipulatives in exchanging tens for ones. I learned the importance of classroom management, and making connections with students no matter how different we are from one another.

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I transferred from Lansing Community College to Central Michigan University with the intention of studying School/Educational Psychology.

I was chasing dollar signs and ignored my calling to be a teacher. I made the decision to pursue teaching when I was job shadowing a school psychologist and felt a strong need to help the struggling student who we were testing. I wanted to be the reason that a child felt comfortable and confident learning something new - which then landed me into the field of teaching, and I never looked back.

Six years after I started college, I graduated May 6th, 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in Integrated Science and a minor in Psychology.

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I attended Lansing Community College (LCC) because I was offered a Student Leadership Academy Scholarship in exchange for a two year commitment. We learned about character, integrity, ethics, and how to be a servant leader.

We were required to do 60 hours of community service work per semester. Part of those hours were to be completed at the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing, mentoring students from grades 1st-10th. We also had to complete a practicum, in which I chose to volunteer in local classrooms.

I graduated from LCC with an Associate Degree in general studies with a concentration in Psychology.

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I attended Fowler High School and was active on the softball and basketball team. I held a 3.70 GPA, was involved in Renaissance, Student Council, NHS, and SADD with science being my favorite subject.  I took college classes as a junior and senior, including a CCRESA Early Childhood Development hands-on course. I graduated in 2011 knowing I was made to help others through my career.

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Dr. Jim McDonald, Ph.D.

Central Michigan University

National Science Teachers Association Advisor

Email: mcdon1jt@cmich.edu

Office: 989-774-1723

Cell: 989-444-1602

Jenn Parker

St. Johns Public Schools

Student Teaching Co-Teacher

Email: parkerjen@sjredwings.org

Cell: 989-506-0939

Natalie Berkhousen
St. Johns Public Schools
Student Teaching Co-Teacher
Email: berkhousenn@sjredwings.org
Cell: 517-282-7786

Terri Brown

Central Michigan University

Student Teaching Coordinator

Email:  brown1ts@cmich.edu

Cell: 989-224-7228

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April 2016, I was awarded the Learning and Leading Award from the College of Education and Human Services at CMU. Students must be nominated by a faculty member and be selected by a committee. I was honored to receive this award as it came as a surprise to me. It is my most favorite award because I was nominated simply for doing what I love for the sake of just doing it; never was I seeking a reward for what I do, but it felt great to be recognized.

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Professional Organizations: NSTA and CESI

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Professional Organizations: NSTA and CESI

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I joined National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Central Michigan University Student Chapter in the Spring of 2014, and am still a current member today. Since I joined NSTA-CMU in 2014, I have held the Executive Board positions of Public Relations and Technology, as well as the President of our student chapter. I learned that leading peers is much different than leading 30 ten year olds! I have coordinated eight Family Science Nights in the Mt. Pleasant District for elementary students and their parents, as well as pioneered Science Hours with middle schools and high school in the surrounding area, such as Mt Pleasant and Beal City Public Schools.

I just recently was awarded a two-year membership to The Council of Elementary Science International (CESI), an affiliate of NSTA. After receiving the CESI Muriel Green Award, I am now honored to be part of CESI as another professional organization that I am a member of. With this opportunity, I have the chance to network with some of the most elite science teachers in the country.

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o   I believe that you should always look for ways to be better than you once were.

o   I believe that being a good person will get you far in life, not having the right things to get you there.

o   I value being honest with yourself and with others. People who are honest with themselves will have a good conscience and make sound decisions.

o   I value experiences and meaningful conversations versus material things.

o   I value personal health and a sound mind because I believe that clarity brings focus, which with a relentless attitude, brings mastery.

o   I believe that mistakes are the best way to learn because being able to turn feelings of defeat into a learning experience makes you stronger and wiser.

o   I believe in making decisions based on whether or not I would regret doing something or not. That feeling of regret or guilt often wears heavy on my soul because I value taking advantage of meaningful opportunities to grow.

o   I believe in doing the right thing even if it hurts, is uncomfortable, or is difficult. This falls back on my value of being a good person, being honest with yourself and others, and taking advantage of opportunities to grow.

o   I value showing kindness and gratitude. Staying humble and kind will always mean more than purposefully striving for recognition alone.

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I believe that teachers should get to know their students first. In order for teachers to truly help students become better people when they leave classroom, we need to know who they are and where they are starting from.  I plan to build trusting relationships with every one of my students so I may understand their triggers and emotions for effective classroom management, interests and dislikes when planning lessons, and personal goals so I know what I need to do to launch them toward success.

I want my students to be better people on the last day of school than the first time they walked through my door.  I want my students to be honest with themselves and others, always look to be better than they once were, and value opportunities to grow and show kindness. I will do this by helping my students set personal goals, self-reflect, and learn from mistakes. Mistakes will be seen as learning opportunities in my classroom.

I believe instruction should be driven with a C.A.R. in mind; Community, Accountability, and Relevance. I will design lessons that all students will be comfortable doing because we have formed a community of learners. My lessons will require students to be accountable for their learning and development – they will self-direct their learning, ask questions when they have any, and will reevaluate their efforts if their academic goals are not being met. Finally, my lessons will be relevant to my students so to peak their interest and link to future use as they grow.