Personal Statement and Vision of an Effective Educator

Kelly Wittwer 7/15/2018

Below is my personal statement that describes what I believe to be at the heart of being an
effective educator. Following the passage are a few more specific comments about my
vision of an effective teacher.

Ants

We were sitting on a mountainside in Colorado with maps in hand, dusk approaching,

pangs of hunger, and little idea of our whereabouts. It was difficult to focus on anything
but our extraordinary levels of mental and physical exhaustion. Our instructor sat down
next to us, gave us a goofy look, picked up an ant, and ate it. My shocked co-students and I
all laughed, processed a few encouraging and pointed suggestions from said instructor, and
were rejuvenated enough to refocus on our navigational skills. Ultimately, we proudly
found our way off the mountain together. While I’d never include ant-eating on any
honorable list of teaching philosophies, that was one of a few defining and inspiring
moments for me.

The wilderness was the first arena to fuel my curiosity and excitement for science, but
what first took me by surprise and then became obvious was that the teachers I interacted
with in it brought out my passion for education. What I learned in these settings defined
the foundation of my own teaching philosophies. It was a love for and interest in the
outdoors that spawned both my PhD in environmental science and my goal to be an
educator. I’ve had many educational role models, including my 7th grade earth science
teacher and multiple outdoor education mentors through the years from places like UCLA
and NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School). The former inspired me to pursue an
undergraduate degree in geology, and the latter group of instructors inspired me to want to
be a teacher myself.

Starting in college, I began teaching as an outdoor instructor taking high-school to college-

aged students on a range of rock climbing excursions and backpacking / canyoneering /
service-work expeditions. These trips would focus on experiential education, community
service, leadership building, and outdoor skills. Through outdoor education, I learned that
all education (and for me science in particular), is not about PowerPoint lectures and smart
boards. There is a place for those methods, and I am definitely a user of the digital age.
That said, teaching science is about being internally flexible, working as a team, mutual
respect, critical thinking and problem solving, always reevaluating and striving for
improvement, having fun, and, most importantly, tapping into that innate human curiosity
that fuels awe of the natural environment.

After educating in the outdoors for years, I was able to further hone my teaching skills and
philosophies while working on my PhD. I taught upper division courses at both the
University of California, Irvine and California State University Channel Islands. I taught
for thirteen quarters as a TA, mentored undergraduate students who assisted me in my lab
research, and participated in a competitively-selected year-long intensive teaching
fellowship. In the fellowship, I got to formally identify some of the pedagogical theories
and strategies I had already been sold on within outdoor and experiential education. I
found structure around ideas like PBLs or “problem-based-learning” and quickly applied
them to my classroom teaching. I found, by taking the role as a mentor and allowing
students to work in small groups on a current local environmental problem (for example),
it allowed them to create an understanding of the subject deeper than my talking at them
about any one topic ever could. I appreciated the focus on inventing and re-inventing
yourself as a teacher and started implementing anonymous mid-course teacher evaluations
so that I could be as effective as possible. Additionally, I put extra emphasis on respect
between teacher and student by always encouraging classroom discussions and taking
students’ thoughts and ideas seriously.

My experiences in research and scientific consulting have only made me a better teacher. I
loved my time engrossed in multidisciplinary graduate research in the lab studying
pharmaceuticals in wastewater and the proteomics behind coral reef bleaching. My studies
allowed me to blend fields of microbiology, ecology, marine science, environmental
engineering, and environmental science in order to deepen our understanding of humans’
impact on the natural world. I have enjoyed being an environmental consultant and
working on current real-world environmental health problems ranging from superfund sites
to sites under litigation. Coordinating risk management and clean-up with the EPA, Navy,
and local water boards has been eye-opening. However, my ultimate goal has been to apply
these life experiences to my passion of teaching and help fuel the spark of curiosity in
young people.

As the ant-munching instructor demonstrated to me, being a teacher means believing in

what your students are capable of and figuring out how to help them discover it within
themselves – ideally with a chuckle or two along the way. I’m excited to take the next step
in applying myself to this ever-growing passion.

Below are a few more concrete techniques that will allow for effective education in my
classroom:

Technology and research based strategies: The use of technology and research based
strategies in my classroom will allow for increased depth and understanding. They also
allow for a wide variety of instructional strategies.

It is important to make all content comprehensible in order to reach all students of every
level. I will make sure content is integrated by scaffolding learning and using various
learning strategies, including kinesthetic, auditory, visual, etc.

The fundamentals of lesson planning that will always be incorporated in my classroom

include: SMART objectives, Scope and Sequence review, Detailed IPGs, Blooms
Taxonomy, and Madeline Hunter Strategies.

Non-negotiable classroom rules I will always incorporate include RESPECT of all and
open, fair, and constant communication.

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Multiple and frequent formative assessments will be used and analyzed to ensure all
students have an opportunity to master learning. These will be used to rework and adjust
lesson plans to meet all student’s needs.

Lastly, modeling professionalism to my students, parents, and peers is a number one

priority as a teacher. This will take the form of respect and care for others in everything I
do, and constant communication and coordination with other teachers, administration, and
students.

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