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Teachers of More on Fourth grade teachers Sue McEvoy and Chrissi Kissack Sue McEvoy is in her 17th year of teaching. She started teaching in 1974 in New York. When she moved to New Jersey, she interrupted her career to stay home with her children. When her girls were young, she substituted in the West Milford schools and decided to seek a position there when she resumed her career. She has taught in West Milford for the past thirteen years. Although she has taught on the second, third, seventh, and eighth grade levels, she is currently enjoying the challenges and rewards of fourth grade. When asked about her philosophy of teaching, Sue responds, "I believe that learning is a life long adventure. My job as a teacher is to empower my students with learning how to learn so they can become life long learners. I play the roles of nurturer and facilitator, as I instill in my students a love of learning and nourish their self-esteem so they can reach their potential. I believe that learning is enhanced when students see it in a greater context connected to real-life situations, and when they see various subject areas interconnected. I think it is critical to design instruction to allow for the differences among my students. I continually strive to create a positive environment in which my students feel comfortable being themselves and take the risks needed to grow socially and academically." This workshop has helped Sue to clarify and deepen her understanding of the Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom. It has validated what she is currently doing in the classroom, and has provided her with additional ideas on how to actively engage her students in their own learning. "One constant in teaching," Sue says, "is that there is continual change. My destination has always been the same. This workshop has impacted me by giving me additional exciting paths to follow." Chrissi Kissack has been teaching full time at Apshawa for four years now. She started by teaching sixth grade and last year was moved to fourth grade. Before teaching full time, Chrissi was a substitute teacher ("Mainly doing long term jobs trying to get my foot in the door," she says). Chrissi came to West Milford because her mother was a first grade teacher here for about 28 years. Chrissi and Sue originally made their Rainforest PBL last year in their first IDE workshop. Commenting on her philosophy of teaching, Chrissi says, "I believe that teaching is a process of encouraging the students to relate their experiences with the subject matter and also I feel that I am a facilitator that enables the students to take responsibility for the own learning. Believing in that, this workshop was a great help to me in that I could learn more ways to help my students learn how to seek their knowledge. I feel that our fourth grade team along with the others that were at our workshop will be able to have a better and more successful year using our PBLs." |