The Blog of Ms. Mercer

Howdy! I’m a computer lab teacher at an elementary school in Sacramento, CA. This is my first year teaching computers, but I have used technology extensively since I began teaching. My previous experience is mostly teaching 5 and 6th grades. I have always taught in schools where most of the students live in poverty. I spent three years as a substitute in Oakland, CA, and one year there with my own class after I got my credential. I then spent the next three years teaching at Community Day School (public school for students removed from regular public school because of their behavior). The last three years have been spent at schools in Program Improvement (failing) under No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

My goals are:

1. To reflect on how I am teaching, and how effective my practices are;
2. To integrate and embed technology in the curriculum I teach; and,
3. To network with other like-minded educators.

To help me reach my goals, I use this blog as a place for me to reflect on best practices, and the practices I’m (trying to) putting in place in my classroom.

My philosophy of teaching is pragmatic (I’ll use what works, and I’m not particularly wed to one theory or another). I want students thinking critically, and engaged in what they are learning (Constructivism), but I know that many of my students (language learners and others) need schema, scaffolding, and explicit modeling, so I’m not afraid to use those as well.

My philosophy of technology education is that teaching comes first, but technology is an awesome tool to use to engage students, and help them create stuff. I prefer that the learning goal guide the use of technology, and not the other way around.

That’s the big picture. Other salient details are that I can be sharp, but I prefer to see the positive and connect with others rather than fighting and argufying. I can be hard on others (having high expectations), but no harder than I am on myself.