All About Bloom

     Currently I am in my 14th year teaching and my 6th year at Henry Clay High School.  Since I have been at Henry Clay, I have developed the Algebra/Math Strategies program which is designed to help students who have previously struggled with mathematics and provide the tools that will enable the students to have a successful high school mathematical career.  Most of my efforts in the last six years have been to discover alternative ways to present the Algebra 1 material and provide differentiatied activities for students to show academic growth and content mastery.  Known as the "close-the-gap" guru around the math department I recently was given a similar charge by the administration to develop a course that targets seniors who have not yet met the ACT benchmark.  This has provided new challenges for me, but I think I am getting the hang of it!  Teaching freshman and teaching seniors are two different forms of teaching and I have had to expand my learning curve (as i hope my students have as well).

     Prior to teaching at Henry Clay, I taught high school in Charleston, SC and spent some time teaching middle school in Lexington.  I am originally from Hopkinsville, Ky and attended Transylvania University.  I finished my Masters in Educational Leadership at EKU in 2006  and fell in love with curriculum.  Since then have been working on my doctoral degree in Instructional Systems Design at UK.  My thesis work will involve pedagogical practice using the Smartboard™ interactive whiteboard. 

     Being in the doctoral program has changed how I view teaching and learning.  It is my responsibility to make sure each child leaves my class with the necessary knowledge of the subject matter.   I have also become more cognizant of purposeful instructional methods.  I enjoy teaching and designing lessons that help students understand math.  More importantly,  I love watching the students learn.   

       I am very involved with the sport of swimming.  I swam competitively through high school and earned a swimming scholarship to Transy.  Currently, I am coaching along side my husband, the year-round team on which my children swim.   This holds a special place in my heart as my own father was my coach, and it really means a lot to share similar experiences with my two girls, Isabell & Riette. 

     In my spare time (haha) I like to run, cook, and play the occasional game of Mario Party on the Wii with the family.
     The goal of  my blog is to explore William James' "Talks to Teachers.." from a pedagogical point of view, both as a teacher and a student of Instrucitonal Design.  I also included pictures of William as he traveled along with me during this time.  Hope you enjoy.   

   

     Happy Learning,
     bloom

  Isabell, me, & Riette  (Summer 2011)