Philosophy

What beliefs and values do I hold about teaching and education?

Every student should leave secondary school with the ability to:

• think critically of the world around them
• bridge their knowledge across disciplines
• understand and show empathy toward others
• make connections and contribute meaningful work to society
• become life-long learners

As an educator, I hope to develop positive, supportive and meaningful relationships with my students. I hope to inspire my students to learn what they love, not to simply learn what they are told. We need doctors. We do not need a population of doctors. We need researchers. Not a population of researchers. We need a diverse, educated population that is empathetic, innovative and able support the whole rather than the self in a world that increasingly relies on interdependency.

With regards to my disciplines, biology and chemistry, I believe everyone should come out of their elementary and secondary education with some basic level of scientific literacy. In a day and age where science seems to be the supreme authority in verifying what can and cannot be believed in, it is crucial that the population entering this world are able to understand, analyze, problem solve and think critically through a scientific lens.

How do I plan on fostering these beliefs and values in my teaching practice?

To address all these ambitious objectives, it will be an ongoing process of creation, application and reflection. I am particularly interested in the following areas of professional development:

• cross-curricular learning and teaching
• inquiry-based learning and teaching (e.g., Plant Inquiry Project)
• collaborative learning and teaching
• place-based learning and teaching (e.g., Aboriginal Education)