Lianne Lapalme

EDUCATOR

PROFILE
Dedicated and innovative Middle School Science Teacher with 13 years of international
classroom experience who encourages inquiry and problem-solving skills through real-
world connections.

SKILLS
Positive attitude and engaging teaching style that helps motivate students
Excellent communication and organizational skills
Team player with strong collaboration skills for both departmental and cross-curricular planning
Flexibility and willingness to try new things

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
SCIENCE TEACHER AND HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
GEMS Dubai American Academy (United Arab Emirates), Middle School 
AUGUST 2014-PRESENT
Develop and teach innovative curriculum for Next Generation Science Standards that incorporate
engineering design and project-based learning
Analyze and utilize internal and external assessment results to drive instruction
Lead six-member team in curriculum development and assessment practices
SCIENCE TEACHER
Schutz American School (Egypt), Upper School 
AUGUST 2011-JUNE 2013
Encouraged inquiry and critical thinking through project-based learning in seventh grade Life
Science, ninth grade Biology, and environmental science and earth science elective courses
Addressed multiple intelligences and developed organizational skills using interactive science 
notebooks
Started a pilot compost project at the school for resident teachers and expanded the school’s
recycling program to include water bottles 
liannelapalme@hotmail.com    ◆     christielapalme.weebly.com     ◆    +971 52 238 9665
 Lianne Lapalme
EDUCATOR

TEACHING EXPERIENCE CONTINUED

SIXTH GRADE TEACHER
Schutz American School (Egypt), Lower School 
AUGUST 2008-JUNE 2011
Taught language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies using a variety of interactive,
cooperative, and interdisciplinary learning strategies 
Coordinated and organized an annual science fair for students in grades 4-6 
Initiated and implemented a change to e-portfolios for student-led conferences in grades 3-6

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor of Education Ontario College of Teachers
University of Ottawa, 2006 General Science (Grades 7-10)
Biology (Grades 11-12)
Bachelor of Science Upper Elementary (Grades 4-6)
University of Toronto, 2000 History (Grades 7-10)

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
“Why do we need to learn this? When are we ever going to use this stuff?" These are questions that I
am striving to remove from my science students’ vernacular, and they are at the root of my philosophy
of education. All students can learn if motivated, but they need to see relevance to their own lives and
the world around them. I try and start each unit with a real-world problem or question and build out from
there. This anchors the learning, allows for collaboration, and ultimately leads them to a solution,
frequently an engineering design prototype. This type of learning, with a focus on authentic real-world
connections, puts me primarily in a flexible role as facilitator/helper where I, as a life-long learner, can
learn from the students as they learn from me. It allows for the incorporation of technology, but it has
innovative thinking rather than gadgets at its core. This philosophy requires that my classroom is a
safe space where it’s okay to “fail”, and where the process is more important than the product. This
discovery and problem-solving process may look a little chaotic and sound a little noisy, but there is
always a lot of learning going on, intense pride in their final solutions, and a deeper understanding of
why we need to learn this stuff.

 l  i  a n  n   e l a p a l m e @ h o t m a i l . c o m       ◆     christielapalme.weebly.com     ◆    +971 52 238 9665