Reintroduction

It has been awhile, so let me reintroduce myself. My name is Rachel Dunn. I have been married for 4 years and have a beautiful 1 year old daughter. I previously worked in a middle school with groups of students with special needs as a push-in Instructional Aide. I am nearing the end of my teaching program and will hopefully be teaching in a classroom soon. I feel like I would describe myself as a creative and reflective teacher. I enjoy creating lesson plans that are creative and fun that motivates students to want to learn. In addition, I am naturally reflective and modify lessons as needed to fit the needs of students. These two qualities help me to meet the needs of diverse learners. Each student that enters my class will have specific needs. Whether the student is an English Language Learner, a GATE student, a student with a special need, or an advanced or low academic student they will need someone who is creative and reflective to help them learn. Modifying and adapting lessons as well as finding ways to engage students are ways that I can meet their needs.

After taking the TeamTechnology Questionnaire, I was not surprised to find that my personality type is INFJ. I have previously done personality testa and received the same myers-briggs result. In the leadership portion of the Questionnaire I scored highest in Ideological Leader and Participative Leader. After reading the descriptions, it does make sense. Values are important to me as well making sure that people feel valued when collaborating. The career choice that the test matched me to is Education Consultant. I feel like these personality traits will affect my relationships with students positively. I care deeply for other people and their feelings. Because of this I feel like I will be able to develop strong relationships with my students which in turn help me understand the specific academic, emotional, and social needs that they may need. Sometimes because I have a need for "keeping the peace," I can become to involved in the social life of students, so it is important to remember when to butt out and when to intervene.

After taking the Teaching and Learning Styles Inventory, I have reconfirmed what I already new about my teaching and learning style. I have a higher preference toward Reflective and Visual learning. These two styles will help my students be successful because it allows for differentiated learning. Because I am reflective, I will be looking back on what was taught and the success of the lesson, and reteaching when necessary as well as modifying the lesson or the way in which I am presenting information. Visual learning can especially help students who are English Language Learners or students who have special needs. combining visuals in with text can be beneficial to many students as well as help me explain the concepts more efficiently.