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| My childhood home of Lewiston, CA |
My name is Liz
Gaines (formerly Deichler until this last summer. Hooray marriage!) and a few years ago I completed my Masters in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning and focused courses in Educational Technology from Sonoma State University. I also received a
Theater Arts B.A. as well as a single subject teaching credential in English
from SSU, so I feel that this school is truly a home away from home. I
particularly love the town of Rohnert Park that Sonoma State is located in
because it reminds me of a larger version of my hometown of Lewiston,
California located about 100 miles from the Oregon border. The community is small and close knit here making it possible to run into someone you know on a daily basis. I enjoy the familiarity that an intimate town brings and hope to bring the same closeness to my own classroom and future schools I am privileged to teach at.
Teaching: Current
Presently, I am working at Jesse Bethel High School, and have been for the last two years. I've taught 9th, 10th and 12th grade English, as well as revitalized the Drama program. The school is 1-to-1 with technology, both iPads and Chromebooks in use, and has an academy system in place for students to be cohorted. I've taught in the BioMed academy, where students pursue jobs in the medical field. I was lucky enough to work with Touro university, having professors and intern college students co-create curriculum surrounding social health issues that students were able to research and present on in a small symposium. I've also been enlightened while working with the multicultural study body, having impactful conversations with my colleagues about making sure we teach authors of varying ethnicities and that we have conversations with our students about racism, immigration and culture.
Presently, I am working at Jesse Bethel High School, and have been for the last two years. I've taught 9th, 10th and 12th grade English, as well as revitalized the Drama program. The school is 1-to-1 with technology, both iPads and Chromebooks in use, and has an academy system in place for students to be cohorted. I've taught in the BioMed academy, where students pursue jobs in the medical field. I was lucky enough to work with Touro university, having professors and intern college students co-create curriculum surrounding social health issues that students were able to research and present on in a small symposium. I've also been enlightened while working with the multicultural study body, having impactful conversations with my colleagues about making sure we teach authors of varying ethnicities and that we have conversations with our students about racism, immigration and culture.
Teaching: The Past
During 2018 I taught at Novato High School. There I taught 10th grade English and World History on an emergency credential. My full day consisted of Sophomores, and one of the most interesting aspects of my job is that I have some students multiple times a day for both of my subjects. During block days, these students may spend 3 hours with me! This can seem daunting to some, but I realize the value of being able to show consistent expectations to these students across curriculum barriers, and to get to know their interests and skills regarding very different topics. Students I have for both courses I know on a more substantial level. Teaching myself about wars in the 20th century has also been a challenge that I've been up to tackling. With the new knowledge I've acquired, I feel extremely prepared to teach texts from this era, having background knowledge that would be significant to supporting a broad view of a novel for students who might not "get literature" but love history!
For the 2015/'16 school year, I worked at American Canyon High School. This school is a part of the New Tech Network, therefore my courses were primarily online through the portal ECHO. I taught 12th grade ERWC, and ELA PLUS for Freshmen, a support course similar to a directed study hall where students have academic and social support from the teacher, and the Freshman counselor who conducts Community Circles weekly (a social support group). Additionally, I was a member of the Humanities 9 PLC and I actively met with them weekly to discuss the PLUS class and use it to best support their work, as well as give my thoughts on the projects that they conducted in class and how to scaffold information for the students that I advocated for. As extra curricular activities, I assistant directed the Fall play, A Christmas Carol, and was the bringer of birthday cheer to all staff members through out the teacher appreciation group, PAWS (Party Always, Work Sometimes).
My most unique experience was in a non-traditional school where I was the Focus and Development and Improv Theater teacher at Northwest Prep Charter (click here to see the website I created and the curriculum I co-created), a project-based school with integrated course work for 7th-12th graders. Multi-level and multi-age grouping occurred on a daily basis, honing my skills in differentiated learning. I worked with teachers credentialed in a variety of disciplines. We met every morning to discuss how to best teach our students, add/alter curriculum, and share assessing responsibilities regarding our unique abilities. A Love of Theater
Theater has always been a large part of my life. Through my continual involvement in the improvisational comedy club on SSU campus that I helped foster with fellow friends as a Freshmen, I discovered that I liked teaching theater just as much as I enjoyed learning about it. Soon I was joining in the peer mentor program on campus and directing my own class of Freshmen when I was in my 4th year. It was through these leadership experiences that my brother PJ saw my potential as an educator and gave me a hearty push in the credential direction. While I initially wanted to teach theater, I found a new passion in education and in English, gaining two new interests thanks to the thoughtfulness and encouragement of my older brother.
Book that Inspire
Now that I have found myself enveloped in the world of the English teacher, I’ve discovered books that excite and interest me. These are the books that inspire me:
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Video Games: Digital "Literature"
One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is play
video games.This passion of mine was an inspiration for my thesis. I enjoy RPG (role play game), MMORPG (massive multiplayer online
role play game), and Adventure games the most. Some of my favorites are:
Having studied Ed Tech, I particularly enjoy seeing the online play that occurs in video games and how people who have never met can collaborate and work together to achieve goals. Additionally, in solo gaming, I lean toward games that have you make difficult choices that affect your character and surroundings, or those that delve into the inner workings of a character and make the gamer empathetic toward that virtual being. I admire the hard work and critical thought placed into thought provoking games and hope that the elaborate stories told through interactive game play may one day be accepted as well-crafted literature.
Images used on this page were borrowed from the following websites:
- Image 1 - Image 2 - Image 3 - Image 4 - Image 5 - Image 6 - Image 7 - Image 8
Having studied Ed Tech, I particularly enjoy seeing the online play that occurs in video games and how people who have never met can collaborate and work together to achieve goals. Additionally, in solo gaming, I lean toward games that have you make difficult choices that affect your character and surroundings, or those that delve into the inner workings of a character and make the gamer empathetic toward that virtual being. I admire the hard work and critical thought placed into thought provoking games and hope that the elaborate stories told through interactive game play may one day be accepted as well-crafted literature.
Images used on this page were borrowed from the following websites:
- Image 1 - Image 2 - Image 3 - Image 4 - Image 5 - Image 6 - Image 7 - Image 8
