Introduction
Welcome to my webpage!
I started teaching sixteen years ago, in a Charter School in South St. Louis. It was the first year that Charter Schools opened in Missouri. Since then, many Charter Schools have opened and closed, but ours has managed to thrive through visionary leadership and hard work.
I began teaching in a First Grade classroom. We used Project Based Learning and Backward Design for most of our planning. As the state changed standards and NCLB was implemented, we gradually moved away from that model toward a standards-based model. Our current charter is for Character Education, and we were honored with a National School of Character award.
While participating in courses for my Master's degree, I read a study that hypothesized that at-risk students need three years of high quality teaching to catch up to their peers. Because our school often has many new teachers, I sought out and found a looping partner so that we could work with students for two years. I completed First to Second grade loops with two groups of students. Each time, students were able to develop a trusting community, where they felt safe to take risks and push themselves beyond their current knowledge. It allowed us to really know one another and to develop a small school feel, even though our school has over nine hundred students.
As I worked with my students and had children of my own, I realized that I truly enjoy the Early Childhood years and earned my certification in this area. There was a need for teachers on our Kindergarten team, so I volunteered to move down to Kindergarten this year. Honestly, I could not be more thrilled with this change! Working with our youngest students has been extremely rewarding and fulfilling. My students amaze me with their learning and progress each and every day!
Some teaching passions that have developed are: fostering a growth mindset, teaching students to self-regulate, using a gradual release of responsibility model, and creating a caring classroom community where students feel safe to share their thoughts, ideas, and work, and take academic risks without fear of judgment from their peers.
I am eager to learn and grow as an educator, and actively seek out opportunities to improve my craft. Thank you for visiting, and please contact me for further information at juliemouser@gmail.com.
Philosophy Statement
“The best teachers show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” ~Alexandra Kenfor
My role in my classroom is that of a facilitator or guide. My students need to become independent learners and thinkers. I am here to support their endeavors. We live in an amazing time where a tremendous amount of information is available to our children at the click of a mouse, or a tap of a finger. I am here to assist them in sorting through this information and possible misinformation, in organizing it in a meaningful way, and in presenting or sharing it with others. I use a Gradual Release of Responsibility model with my students to move them from dependence to independence. This requires many important components.
First, my students must exist in a community of trust. They must trust me, and they must trust one another. A trusting environment is a place where learners know that mistakes are not only acceptable, but embraced as learning opportunities. Students must be willing to take academic risks. This will allow them to reach higher levels of thought and to develop a deep understanding of material and concepts.
Another important component is that students must have a growth mindset. It is essential that they believe that all students are capable of learning new things with practice, hard work, and determination. They must realize that everyone’s brain functions a bit differently. Some students need more practice in some areas while others need less; and that is acceptable. They should realize that all people have different strengths and areas needing growth. Projects and work can always improve in some way. Even young students can critique and offer improved ideas on work.
The final component is that students must know themselves and be able to self-regulate. They must know where they stand academically to be able to create future goals and project ideas mindfully. They must be able to manage their time, and know what they need to be their most efficient. They must know what distracts them, in order to find a place where distractions are minimal. They must know how to regulate their own behavior. If they have energy that is too high, or too low, they must be able to recognize that, and they must know how to remedy the situation.
In addition, student autonomy is the key to meaningful learning. Students must have ownership in their classroom. I am here to assist them in pushing beyond their current knowledge to build new schema. I love the challenge of figuring out what works for each child so that we can individualize learning according to ability, areas of strength, areas needing practice, and student interests. Even in early childhood grades, students can create and set goals and monitor their own learning. This is not only an academic skill, but also a life skill.
I am passionate about learning. I learn new things from my students, their families, and my teaching team on a daily basis. I greatly enjoy the process of learning and discovery. I believe that all of these components are essential parts of a thriving classroom community.
