Laurie Sullivan
Virginia Teacher of the Year
K.W. Barrett Elementary, Arlington, VA
Grades K-5, Science, Math and Technology

My teaching philosophy
Teaching and learning should be fun and exciting! Students learn best when lessons are stimulating, personally meaningful, and related to something they already know. Learning is most effective when it is active, goal-directed, and appropriately challenging. I facilitate student learning by focusing on the multiple intelligences of my students when I design and implement my lessons. Also essential to the learning process is social interaction and feedback.

I believe that teaching is enhanced when educators engage in productive teacher collaboration. Productive teacher collaboration consists of teachers working together on a regular basis to align the curriculum standards with what is tested. The teacher team analyzes assessment results to pinpoint areas in need of improvement. Teachers collaborate to create lessons and strategies that are deliberately aligned to the assessed standards. After the lessons are taught, each teacher takes time to reflect. Did the lessons assist my students with accomplishing the goals I had set for them? How can I refine the lesson so it is more successful next time? How do I know that my students understood the concepts I presented? At the next team meeting, each teacher has the opportunity to share successes and stumbling blocks he or she encountered while teaching the lessons. The lessons are further refined and the cycle continues as the teacher team begins the next unit of study.

Productive teacher collaboration is successful because teachers zoom in on areas of difficulties for their students. By discussing research on teaching best practices and brainstorming lessons together, teachers become more skilled in their craft and students are the direct beneficiaries of this collaboration.

My philosophy in action
Special delivery! A fluorescent colored package has just arrived addressed to the fourth grade scientists at K.W. Barrett Elementary. We open the package to discover a CD-ROM from The New York Center for Science Seekers. As we insert the disk into the computer, we hear the Mission Impossible theme music in the background as we receive our mission. We are challenged to find the best place to send a team of paleontologists to look for fossils in an unexplored area called Vastland. By experimenting, reading, discussing, reflecting, writing, conferencing with scientists, viewing computer animations and analyzing satellite imagery we will gather enough data to pinpoint which area of Vastland to explore for fossils.

This weeklong simulation highlights many of my beliefs about teaching and learning. Students learn best when lessons are exciting, personally meaningful and related to something they already know. Learning is most effective when it is active, goal-directed, and appropriately challenging. Also essential to the learning process is social interaction and feedback.
Earlier in the year these fourth grade students completed a study of Earth patterns, cycles, and change. I taught these Virginia Standards of Learning through hands-on/minds-on experiments, acting, singing, drawing, using computers, reading, group discussions, and individual reflection. To hook my students into learning about shifting continental plates, I disguised myself with a moustache, hat, and coat to become Alfred Wegener. I shared with the students how my geological theory of plate tectonics was ridiculed before accumulating evidence finally prompted its acceptance. I invited a female geologist to speak to the class. We visited the United States Geological Survey. Whenever possible I connected the curriculum to the world outside the classroom to make the learning more meaningful for the students.

To help students build upon what they have learned and to foster a deeper understanding of a topic, I often spiral back to approach the curriculum in a novel way. As we worked through the simulation, the students made connections to their prior learning about land formations and rock types, plate tectonics, and erosion to pick the best fossil-hunting site. In planning the simulation, I reflected on the needs of my students. I balanced lively class discussions with quiet individual reflection. At times the students worked in expert groups based on ability and other times they collaborated in cooperative heterogeneous groups. Throughout the simulation the students were actively engaged in complex cognitive experiences and authentic inquiry over an extended period of time. Recently I visited the fossils of a pygmy mammoth found on the islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. As I shared my photographs with the students, they applied what they had learned from the earth science unit and the simulation to talk knowledgeably about the type of rock that contained the mammoth fossils and hypothesized the earth processes that may have caused the fossils to surface.

Teaching is a rewarding experience. I love seeing a child’s face become animated as we explore science together. I feel invigorated when students ask question after question. This shows me that they are really thinking and are interested in learning. It is a wonderful feeling to overhear children talking about a science lesson during lunch or on the playground. I treasure the little gifts the students bring to me such as a colorful leaf, a gigantic fuzzy moth, and an unusual rock, which happened to be insect larvae.

I feel I am a successful teacher because in addition to implementing best practices in teaching as I highlighted above, I connect with my students. I strive to create an emotionally safe environment for all my students. I smile, laugh, and talk with students informally whenever I have the chance. I take time during the day to make personal inquires, to listen, and to accept feelings. Children know I value their presence. Girls know I expect them to be active participants during science and math lessons. As a life-long learner, I am excited about learning right along with my students. I help students see the future application of what they are currently learning. I hope that my students will receive many special deliveries to inspire them throughout their future education.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
Two years ago, eight fourth grade students enrolled in our school. These children had recently arrived from several Central American countries and had received little formal schooling and spoke very little to no English. My principal and the fourth grade team of teachers asked me to work with these students for an hour each day in mathematics. The students and I communicated in both English and Spanish. I met with the director of the local community center and arranged for the students to receive help with their homework at the center, as well as use the computers. I employed manipulatives, computer software, and cooperative learning, to help these students progress from working at a first grade level in math to achieving a beginning fourth grade level in math. These students were eager to learn and I was dedicated to helping them succeed.

The most critical issue facing educators today
I feel that lack of time is a critical issue facing educators at the elementary school level. Classroom teachers plan and teach math, social studies, science, reading, writing, grammar, spelling, and oral language. There is also the untested curriculum to teach such as bullying, drug prevention, and career education. In the core curriculum areas, teachers are expected to differentiate to meet the variety of student abilities in the classroom. In most elementary schools, teachers are provided with very little planning time to adequately prepare engaging lessons in all subject areas. In addition to planning, teachers need time for grading, communicating with parents, completing required paperwork for student referrals, and professional development opportunities.

Ways to resolve this issue
Elementary school teachers must be provided with time to plan high quality learning experiences for all children. Time can be arranged by building in teacher workdays and early release days into the school year calendar.

One thought to inspire other teachers to succeed
Today I saw an ad in a magazine for a porcelain memory box. The box is engraved with the words, “The Influence of a Teacher can never be Erased”. Teachers touch the future forever; you never know where your influence will reach. As I ponder this concept, I am encouraged to be the most awesome teacher I can be! I know I can make a positive difference in the lives of my students, who will touch and influence others as they live their lives.

One lesson every student should learn
Treat others as you would like to be treated. Be kind to one another.

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