Training and Teaching Philosophy As a first generation college graduate, I believe in the power of education and its ability

to change lives. During my first years as a high school Algebra teacher, with at-risk children, I witnessed firsthand the life changing effects that acquiring an education had on the student and their family. I believe that children should be taught according to the world they live in today and be ready to adapt to the world they will live in tomorrow. This need is highlighted by the fact that many of todays most promising careers did not exist five to ten years ago. As the 20th century progressive education reformist, John Dewey, once stated: If we teach our students today the way we taught yesterday, we rob them of tomorrow. I believe that the teacher should be a facilitator of learning and not the source. Schools are, too often, places of teaching but they must also be places of learning. I feel that guiding students along their education is the primary role of an educator. In the age of information, rote knowledge is ineffective in comparison with leveraging that knowledge to solve a problem or situation. We must teach our children to be creative thinkers and problem solvers. Utilizing project based learning, we can begin to give students lifelong learning skills that will benefit them far into their future. As a technologist, I support the integration of technology skills into the core instructional contents as opposed to skills taught separately and in isolation. I believe that students utilizing technology brings about higher student engagement and higher student performance. Students gain valuable skills when learning how to use technology for educative reasons, problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. Technology has changed every aspect of our lives: how we live, how we learn, how we work. Technology as a component of education requires proper integration into all facets of learning. We are no longer in the age of students creating paper artifacts or scores on standardized testing as indicators of learning , but rather them creating original digital artifacts that demonstrate their level of understanding. Utilizing open source and web based resources, teachers can gain valuable experience in using technology to foster 21st century learning. Utilizing blended and flipped classroom models will help teachers deliver truly differentiated instruction to each student. Delivering instruction through project based learning will also aid in students development of critical thinking and problem solving. These tools and methodologies will help all teachers deliver a 21st century personalized education and develop students skills to become globally competitive in the world of tomorrow.