Biography
I love teaching, and my professional development has always centered on becoming a good teacher. I earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Concord University, a Master’s degree in English from Marshall University, and a Doctorate in Education from Marshall University. I began my teaching career in 1998 with a class on developmental English for American students. Since that first class, I have pursued a career in teaching English to American students, study skills to high school students and teaching English as a Second Language. Since earning my doctorate in 2012, I have continued to pursue opportunities to learn more about teaching from conferences and workshops and professional journals. In the last few years, I have concentrated my focus on classroom assessment, technology integration, and curriculum revision to better meet the needs of our students.
My teaching philosophy begins and ends with my goal of meeting my students’ short-term and long-term needs. As a result, I begin with a diagnostic to determine a student’s strengths and weaknesses and then scaffold lessons to meet the student’s needs, so they can learn the outcomes necessary to be successful. I want students to be able to complete my classes with the knowledge and strategies to be successful in their other English classes, and ultimately in their degree classes.