The teacher education program at William and Mary has given me teaching knowledge that will guide me and help me continue to grow as an educator.  An elementary school teacher is required to have extensive knowledge of content in multiple courses.  Courses offered in the Elementary Education program at William and Mary have given me a professional experience that allowed me to develop my knowledge of core content materials and resources for Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Technology, and Social Studies.  The rich training helped form a strong foundation of content knowledge as well as the pedagogical knowledge of how to engage and challenge my students during lessons. 

As a content expert, I exhibit not only the content knowledge, but also general pedagogical knowledge.  I know how to communicate with students effectively, organize my classroom for instruction, use classroom management techniques throughout lessons, use a variety of resources and learning activities, assess student learning, and maintain a productive learning environment that promotes student learning.

Examples of lessons that I taught in the core content areas are listed below:

• Reading/Language Arts
  • The Read, Write, Think Aloud Lesson allowed fourth grade students to really focus on developing their writing skills by going back to their initial draft and adding descriptive details.
  • The Thank You Letter Writing Activity focused on brainstorming, drafting, and creating thank you letters for the Williamsburg Floral and Gifts shop, who donated flowers for my first grade students to use during their plant parts lesson.
• Science
• The Science Circus on Electricity was planned with two other elementary education students.  It was used with a fourth grade classroom and focused on using inquiry-based learning in the classroom.
• The States of Matter Lesson was used with first graders.  It involved science centers that allowed students to do hands on experiments.  Students practiced forming hypothesis and performing the mixture experiments.
• Social Studies
  • Squanto and the First Thanksgiving was a lesson that was used in my first grade classroom.  Students heard a short biography about Squanto and each created their own timeline of his life.
  • The Culture Kit on Egypt was created by myself and three other students in the school of education for the Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction Course.  It includes lessons for both primary and intermediate levels, and focuses on incorporating artifacts in the classroom.
• Math
  • The Probability Lesson focuses on using math centers in the first grade classroom.  It provides students with short hands on activities that allow them to practice the mathematical concept.
  • Apple Fractions was a two part lesson.  First students heard a story about fractions and helped direct me in cutting apples into equal parts.  Next the students rotated through a variety of centers focused on fractions.

These are all of the Education Courses that I have taken through the Elementary Education Program at William and Mary: 

EDUC 301: Educational Psychology
EDUC 310: Social & Philosophical Foundations of Education
EDUC 330: Designs for Technology-Enhanced Learning
EDUC 406: Elem Science Curriculum & Instruction
                    (with 20 hours of practicum)
EDUC 407: Elem Mathematics Curriculum & Instruction
                    (with 20 hours of practicum)
EDUC 405: Elem Social Studies Curriculum & Instruction
                    (with 20 hours of practicum)
EDUC 410: Elem Reading/Language Arts Curriculum
                    (with 20 hours of practicum)
EDUC 302: Characteristics of Special  Populations
                (with 20 hours of practicum for the final semester of courses)
EDUC 303: Classroom Organization & Management
EDUC 340: Assessment of Learning
EDUC 345: Managing in Diverse Classrooms
EDUC 411: Adaptations for Exceptional Student Populations
EDUC 414: Student Teaching Seminar
EDUC 415: Full Time Student Teaching

Additionally, my scores on the Praxis II Elementary Education Content Knowledge Test qualified me for ETS Recognition of Excellence.