About the Author
I started as an educator unexpectedly when there was a need at my children’s school to fill in for a teacher mid-year. I soon fell in love and found my passion. I loved being in the classroom but because this was a second career for me, I tried to learn as much and as quickly as I could. I attended every workshop, seminar, and conference I could find and loved to share what I learned with my team. I found that I could affect change for kids through building and leading a team with a common vision. I’ve been an elementary school principal for the last 16 years, with the last 11 at Bel Aire Park Magnet School in Napa, Ca.
Integral to my story is my association with the International Baccalaureate Organization. As a new principal, I had a mentor that suggested I go to a presentation about the program. She told me, “this is who you are.” She was so right! When I heard the IB mission statement for the first time, I knew I had found a direction not only for my school but for my learning and growth as well. The IB is a global education organization that strives to help students become internationally minded people who use their skills and knowledge to create a better, more peaceful world. We believe that schools should foster inquiring, caring, independent learners. I now work with other schools around the country as a consultant and site visitor as they become part of the IB family.
In addition to my professional life, I have a husband and two grown daughters. We enjoy spending time together playing games and singing karaoke. When I have time, I love to find a quiet spot somewhere in nature to read a good book. I also love poetry and enjoy searching out bookstores for new volumes for my collection.
Integral to my story is my association with the International Baccalaureate Organization. As a new principal, I had a mentor that suggested I go to a presentation about the program. She told me, “this is who you are.” She was so right! When I heard the IB mission statement for the first time, I knew I had found a direction not only for my school but for my learning and growth as well. The IB is a global education organization that strives to help students become internationally minded people who use their skills and knowledge to create a better, more peaceful world. We believe that schools should foster inquiring, caring, independent learners. I now work with other schools around the country as a consultant and site visitor as they become part of the IB family.
In addition to my professional life, I have a husband and two grown daughters. We enjoy spending time together playing games and singing karaoke. When I have time, I love to find a quiet spot somewhere in nature to read a good book. I also love poetry and enjoy searching out bookstores for new volumes for my collection.
Reflections on my Journey
As I look at our agency work through the lens of the TPACK framework, our team was able to identify our strengths and needs. The content was coming from our IB units of inquiry and we planned with the pedagogical expertise we’ve developed especially in inquiry-based strategies to engage students in asking questions, experimenting, exploring, researching etc. The challenge was to expand our technological pedagogical knowledge to find new ways of using technology as a vehicle to support agentic actions and behaviors. Through the innovative learning program, I was able to share tools that we could use to encourage students to share thinking and collaborate with their peers. I found tools that aided our team’s professional learning that promoted agency strategies. My personal growth also reflects the combination of contexts in the TPACK framework as I’ve experimented and met challenges throughout the program.
Lasting Learning from the Innovative Learning program
This experience has given me so many things to consider for my work with my school and with the work I share with other school leaders and teams. I have a new appreciation for brain research and how it affects the way should be approaching instruction. I have new ideas and thinking about trans-literacy and different ways of knowing and how we think about the ways students can represent their learning. I have developed new skills using technology tools and have used my creativity to make my visual presentations and communications more effective. I am very grateful to Napa Learns and to Touro University for giving me this opportunity. I have lots to share and contribute to our larger learning community and beyond.