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About Me

Hello and thank you for visiting the About Me section of my website!

Experience

Regarding my experience working with children, I graduated from the University of Iowa in 2003 with a BA in Elementary Education and am also endorsed in the areas of reading and social studies K-8. During college I worked in school-aged childcare, volunteered with students and then I student taught 3rd and 4th grades in Iowa City. Shortly after graduation my husband, Tim, Julia and I moved to Cedar Rapids. During the past five years I have worked as a substitute teacher, taught kindergarten for a year at Benton Community, taught 5th grade as a long-term substitute at Hiawatha, and worked in school-aged childcare at Waypoint and at Five Seasons. During the 07/08 school-year I accepted a position working as a Para-Educator in the Cedar Rapids School District in a level 3 BD facility. I will remain in this position until such time I am hired on as a teacher.

Goals

Regarding my professional goals, I am currently enrolled in Drake University's graduate program for the Gifted and Talented Endorsement. I will finish the program in August, 2009. The reason for pursuing an endorsement in TAG is that I have realized I greatly enjoy teaching TAG students. The TAG endorsement provides necessary training to adequately meet the diverse social and academic needs of talented and gifted students. Also, I work well with small groups and am very good at planning, organizing and coordinating with other teachers. These skills are necessary for a TAG teacher who in addition to teaching TAG students is often responsible for collaborating with other teachers in order to offer support and resources for the classroom as well as plan and organize curriculum for the gifted and talented. After all, TAG students are gifted and talented 24/7, not just when they meet for pull-out classes!

The area of technology as it relates to education is also of great importance to me. It is imperative that our modern students be educated in an environment that utilizes technology to its full potential and that is relevant to their lives. As such, I am always striving to learn more about technology through hands on experiences as well as through continued education courses to add to my current knowledge base. I would like to work for a school district or educational organization that effectively implements curriculum that uses technology effectively with students.

For more on this subject, please visit the Teaching and Technology portion of my website.

Citizenship is important to me so I volunteer in my community. My experiences volunteering in the Cedar Rapids area include, for example, helping out my daughter's school, Arthur Elementary, through various PTA opportunities; assisting the Brucemore as a stationary guide and usher; volunteering at Theater Cedar Rapids; delivering Holiday meals to shut-ins and the homeless; & volunteering at Waypoint during their holiday gift drive. One of my goals as a teacher is to provide opportunities for service learning in the classroom.

Professional Development

It is important to me that I am always learning something new to help me be a more effective teacher. The following are classes I have taken for credit and/or a certificate of completion:
  • Creating Websites I and II
    Kirkwood Ed2Go Spring 2008
  • Quality Classroom Level I
    Cedar Rapids Community School District May 2008
  • Writing-Improving Student Achievement through Quality Writing Instruction
    Benton Community School District April 2007
  • Group Management and Leading Games
    Iowa State Extention June 2006
The following are required certifications I have obtained through training.
  • Iowa Medication Administration
    CRCSD Health Service Program
  • Crisis Prevention Intervention-(CPI)
    Cedar Rapids Community School District
  • BBP
    GWAEA
  • Adult, Infant and Child CPR and First Aid
    The American Red Cross
The following are examples of online tutorials I have participated in and books I have read that were not required for any class. These venues of learning do not offer credit but do add to my knowledge base and help me to be a better teacher.

Online:

Books:
  • The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, "Chronically Inflexible" Children by Ross W. Greene


If you are interested in becoming a lifelong learner or helping your students to become lifelong learners please click here to read a helpful article on the subject from www.lifehacker.com.










Copyright © 2008 by Casey Anderson