PETER ESPINOLA

Be explicit. Leave no room for doubt.

 Education 

I believe that the role of education is to create critical thinkers, caring members of society, and life long learners. To successfully prepare our students, educators must go beyond teaching content and become the facilitators of knowledge. Our job is no longer to provide content and instruction. Instead we drive purpose and meaning from the content by provoking thought, generating inquiries, and providing the essential understanding needed to unlock our student's potential.

 The Classroom 

Students do not enter the classroom a blank canvas. Each student enters the classroom painted with their past experiences, their influences from culture, their surroundings, and scars from adversity they had to overcome. My experience stems from the constructivist paradigm that students should use that canvas to recognize a personal connection to what they doing and what they are learning. The responsibililty of learning falls on both the teacher and the student to create and employ strategies for success. These include writing for real audiences, on-going reflections, criteria in the form of checklists and guidelines, and involvement in the assessment process. I truly believe that the smartest person in the room is the room. By creating a collaborative community of learners education isn't a struggle to get to the finish, it becomes an enjoyable journey. 

 My Role 

My role as a teacher is to carefully craft lessons that are student based and reflect the specific needs of the classroom.  To ensure students are truly reaching the essential understanding I rely on the Optimal Learning Model (OLM) to gradually release responsibility to the students through active modelling and structured guidance. My job during the off season is to find inspiration to create units that delve into Inquiry Based Learning (IBL). By creating structured all encompassing themes to run across multiple subjects (ex. What is power and who is powerful?) I find that students are more engaged and enthusiastic. IBL invites students to investigate issues, do research, solve problems, and creating content that they can be proud of. 

 Achievements of all kinds 

Year after year teachers are given the task to get students to finish at grade level or higher. While the finish line is clear, the place where each student begins varies greatly. Familiar with facing adversity I recognize the importance of differenting for the classroom.

Implementing techniques based on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Howard Gardener's theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) I aim to allow students multiple means of being successful. To truly find achievement I want create a learning experience that delivers an explicit message in more ways than one.

"If educators go beyond their curriculum content and become experts at learning, Their students will follow.

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