“Learning is mostly about talking; teaching is mostly about listening.”

These words capture the essence of my work in schools to foster student learning. That is, my philosophy of education is grounded not so much in how to teach but rather in how children learn. My undergraduate experience as a child development major at Tufts University provided me with a lens for observing children and using these observations to inform my decisions as a teacher. I brought this understanding with me to my years as a first-grade teacher in Wilton, Connecticut, and it was by listening to first-graders' mathematical thinking that I became passionate about the development of children's mathematical ideas. I therefore pursued a Master's Degree from the Bank Street College of Education Leadership in Mathematics Education program. From my graduate experiences, I developed a deep understanding of elementary mathematics curriculum, pedagogy, and theories of adult development and change. I then moved onto experiences as a mathematics staff developer/coach and coordinator in elementary mathematics (K-8 and K-5) over the past nine years. I have served for the past seven years as a K-5 mathematics specialist/coach and curriculum coordinator in the New Canaan Public Schools, an affluent suburban town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, approximately 50 miles from New York City.

Job-embedded professional development in the form of coaching has been the primary vehicle for moving curriculum and instruction forward in New Canaan. I have immersed myself in this professional development work over the past nine years, including my role as facilitator of online coaching seminars. I recently authored a manuscript that describes principles and skills of coaching; this manuscript is scheduled to be published by Corwin Press in March, 2010. In addition to coaching, my work in New Canaan has most recently focused on the development of Response to Intervention models in mathematics, not only to support struggling students but also to promote the continued growth of high-performing students in a differentiated classroom.

Finally, I completed a six-year Educational Leadership/Administration degree program at the University of Connecticut this past spring. This program allowed me to examine how coaching may be integrated into the work of administrators to ensure the growth of teachers in schools, and it also included coursework specific to educational policy. This heightened my awareness of the need as an educator to have a voice in matters of policy and to harness policy as a leverage point for school improvement. This ultimately led me to apply for the Teacher Ambassador Fellowship with an interest in continuing to study policy topics and their application in schools and with a desire to contribute to the policy conversations as an educator.