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XYZPrinting da Vinci 1.0 AiO - All in One - 3D Classroom Printer & Scanner, $899.00, 0.00% raised
XYZPrinting da Vinci 1.0 AiO - All in One - 3D Classroom Printer & Scanner Rank:
Single Unit Why I need this:
An absolutely perfect way for students to see their thoughts and ideas come to life through project-based learning and a 3-D printer!!!!
Quantity: 1 Price: $899.00
$1,000 Digital Wish Gift Card Rank:
Single Unit Why I need this:
There are so many items on the site that I would love to have, yet money is always a deciding factor. With this gift certificate, I could enhance my students' learning in sooooo many ways!!!
Quantity: 1 Price: $1000.00
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Mrs. Sarah Burkholder
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William Ford Elementary School
Class Information:
Students per Class: 21
Class Description:
A second grade classroom that consists of 21 students all of whom are ELL students whose primary language at home is Arabic. This heterogenous classroom is academically lower than many other second grade classes in the Dearborn Public Schools district. All students in this classroom are in the free and reduced lunch program and a majority of the families receive federal and state monetary assistance for their home which (on average) consists of 6-10 people living in their home.
Position:
teacher
My Philosophy:
Throughout my studies (MA Early Childhood Education and MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), my philosophy of teaching has varied. Every time a new theorist was studied, I found parts of their theories that I liked. I soon discovered that the constructivist approach was the best way for children to learn. With constructivism, the learner creates his/her own meaning and interpretation of what is being taught or explored. I dove deep into the readings and theories of Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky and agreed with their theoretical findings. I believe that as an educator, we need to provide our students with sensory materials so that they can construct their own views on the world. I think that this is why I try to incorporate as many project-based learning opportunities and hands-on activities for my students – I like to see what they can come up with rather than myself telling them what they need to know. This is also another reason that I like to offer performance-basedassessments to my students; it allows them to show me what they learned rather than just reiterate information that they learned. I offer as much scaffolding as my students allow me to provide for them. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) explains how students need to expand on their independent levels in order to try to reach full potential. That being said, I allow my students to “turn and talk” and work with partners as much as possible. Even as adults, we have a thought in our head and need to talk through it with someone else in order to make sense of what we are trying to do/say. Many administrators think that a quiet and structured classroom, with everyone in their seats and a book open, is how a classroom should look. I am someone who thinks that the more talking and group work that is going on, the more learning is taking place. I think that retaining culture in your home and family allows the family to hold on to their heritage. My family is Polish and I took Polish Language and Folklore Dance lessons for 18+ years. For the past five years, I have been employed with Dearborn Public Schools. DPS has a very large ELL population, especially with those who are of Middle-Eastern decent. Many people make snide remarks about the population and how they don’t try and learn English so that they can communicate with Americans. In contrast, I find myself researching and asking native Arabic speakers about the language so that I could better understand what my students’ native language entails. My school offers Arabic language as one of the students’ specials throughout the week. I have found myself attending a few classes with my students so that I could learn vocabulary words in Arabic to better serve my ELL population. By no means have I become fluent, but I have picked up “school vocabulary” so that I can communicate better with non-English speaking students. I think that holding onto culture is extremely important, however, I also feel that there is a need/want to know/learn a new language when everyone around you is speaking something different than you.
Personal Information:
College and Degrees:
BS in Elementary Education from Eastern Michigan University (2003) MA in Early Childhood Education from Eastern Michigan University (2012) MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (2015)
Activities:
Organizations I'm involved in: Polish National Alliance, PTA
Interests:
technology, scrapbooking, hiking, crocheting
Employment History:
1 year Redford Public Schools (Michigan) 3 years Christa McAuliffe Charter Elementary (Florida) 5 years Dearborn Public Schools (Michigan)
Why Do I Teach?:
The gratification that I receive through watching the eyes of my students light up when they finally understand a concept or learn something new for the first time is something that could never compete with any other profession out there.