UW-Superior
Assistant Professor
Education Department
I am an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. I am a professor in the Educational Administration program in the Education Department. I instruct graduate students earning Educational Specialist Degrees or Masters degrees. The students I educate are the future leaders of our school systems (superintendents, principals, director of instruction, and director of special education).
My prior experiences as an educational leader in small, rural school districts provided me the opportunity to maintain multiple leadership roles (superintendent, principal, and special education teacher). These leadership roles assisted me in sustaining a strong foundation of knowledge in areas of special education, academic state standards, teaching and learning practices, business management, curriculum and instruction, and human resource procedures. I believe in a collaborative leadership style, using frequent methods of communication and maintaining strong organizational skills to enhance and provide the essential components required to sustain strong foundations of education at all levels.
TEACHING AND LEARNING PHILOSOPHY
As an educator I believe it is my responsibility to enable students from all ethnic backgrounds to have positive experiences in educational settings, which enrich the teaching and learning processes and help make lives better for all students.
As a facilitator of learning I must be authentic and develop trusting relationships with all stakeholders within the learning community. This can be achieved by having open and respectful discussions with all people, which provide for diverse voices to be heard and expressed in a climate of support and understanding. This will help make lives better for all people in the learning environment.
I teach, so therefore, I shall take time to create equitable learning environments to support the success of individual students and the foundation of the educational community. The learning environment must be one, which engages students and provides opportunities for them to acquire new knowledge and skills by using diverse teaching methods. These methods need to encourage a variety of cognitive abilities to help students determine the relevance of their learning and link this academic growth to their own lives. This type of engaging pedagogy helps provide equitable opportunities for learners achieve their individual goals, which creates an environment that helps students develop a better understanding of themselves and the world around them. This will help make lives better for those in the educational community.
