I am so excited to be the recipient of three Innovation Grants provided by KVEC. Looking forward to sharing and learning at the FIRE Summit! Here is a little information about each of my grants. Let’s Move Mountains at Mountain View!

Physical activity is limited throughout the school day. How does this impact my students? Through observation, it is evident that many students experience restlessness, non-engagement, and lack of motivation. This can appear as a “mountain” or barrier to student success. The lack of movement increases the “size of the mountain”. In order to combat these issues, I plan to implement active seating into my daily classroom routine. Giving students a more active option to help climb the “mountain”, will provide an opportunity to improve student engagement and achievement at Mountain View Elementary.

This World Does Revolve Around You!

Have you ever heard, “the world does not revolve around you”? In my classroom, I want students to have an environment that does revolve around them and is conducive to their success in learning. Collaboration is a 21st century skill all students need to be successful. The traditional seating options limit student collaboration. Through classroom redesign, I hope to create student centered environment that promotes student engagement and success.. Student involvement in selection, implementation, and expectations will create the theme that this classroom does revolve around them!

Involve Me and I Learn

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin

Living for the “light bulb” moments as a teacher, I have realized most of those moments come when the students are in control of their learning. Remarkably, student led activities facilitated by the teacher have shown increase retention rates. When students are taught by their peers, they have a way to connect the concept to the peer teacher. Knowing the success of this pedagogy in my class, the issues of absenteeism creates a problem. I cannot recreate the authentic lesson of their peers and the spontaneous feedback for them. Creating sustainable lessons that can be shared with absent students, other classes and even other schools can provide many “light bulb” moments for students in and outside of my classroom.