I plan to create a positive atmosphere for learning in my classroom in three different ways: I will give my students a voice in decision making and teach relevant and interesting material that fosters inquiry. I will have high expectations of positive student behavior that I reinforce through praise and earned rewards. I will build relationships with my students based on mutual respect and take the time to get to know them, their passions, goals, and interests.

I will provide practice materials for students to complete at home if they would like to dive deeper into a topic. However, in the younger grades the only homework I will assign will be meaningful and project-based assignments (interviews with a family member, active research on the community, creating an experiment, etc.). I believe home time should be about family and I will be very mindful about only assigning work that can be completed with family members and is necessary for academic progression in a topic. I will not punish students for not completing homework, but depending on the assignment they may need to finish it in class before participating in the following activities.

I believe one of the major barriers that children experience in relation to math is a learned fixed mindset (e.g. the belief that they are not good at math and will never be good at math). My classroom will be student-centered, and I will teach multiple strategies so students may explore math in a variety of ways. Students will be encouraged to work collaboratively, make mistakes, and gain a positive dissonance towards math in everyday life. Our classroom will be a safe place where students can freely talk about their ideas, misconceptions, and participate in meaningful discourse about mathematical concepts. I will encourage students to participate in a constant productive struggle, and together celebrate their triumphs.

As many educators say, the key to classroom management is a fantastic lesson. However, not every lesson will interest every student and when engagement is low so is the amount of learning that is taking place. Some active participation strategies that I will use to increase engagement are: movement (e.g. have the whole class stand up and stretch for sixty seconds, do jumping jacks, etc.), free choice (give students options when applicable), and student voice (allow students to make decisions about their learning and discuss topics with their peers in groups or pair-shares).

I will differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all of my students. I will assign pre-tests to determine each students’ individual ability level. I will utilize hands-on, real-world problem solving activities that allow students to work at their own levels. As students are working I will continually be moving around the room asking clarifying, and advancing questions. I will not give students the answer but provide them with just enough support to move their thinking forward.

Learning is a continuum and our job as educators is to encourage our students to be lifelong learners. I believe in backward teaching which is knowing the standards, creating summative assessments that meet those standards, and creating units and lessons that directly align with the assessments. In my opinion, summative assessments should be used infrequently since they focus on results rather than the progress that is being made. However, I will use pre-assessments, and both formal, and informal post-assessments frequently. I would even go as far as to say they will be the backbone of my teaching, since they will determine how I will modify my future instruction.

I will work to build positive relationships with my students families by reaching out to them through phone calls, texts, and the Remind app. Before school starts, I will send out a parent letter introducing myself, inviting the families to come into the classroom, and letting them know how excited I am to get to know their child. I will host potluck family nights at the end of each quarter where students can display the work they’ve completed and where families have the chance to ask questions and engage with the other students and parents. I plan on sending out weekly newsletters that the students help create. If time permits, I’d also love to make three positive phone calls a week to let families know some of the amazing things their children are doing in our class.

I will welcome diversity in the classroom and provide opportunities for bringing culture in through guest speakers (students family members, community members, etc.), field trips, and pen-pal letters. I will work to integrate the essential understandings on Native American tribes in everyday curriculum. I don’t plan on taking a whole day or week (such as Indigenous day) to discuss Montana tribes, but rather believe that indigenous knowledge should be integrated seamlessly into everyday teachings. Telling students to have a great day in Kootenai, or integrating Native American literature into our class read-alouds, are just some of the ways I will integrate IEFA into my instruction.