EDU671 Introduction – Dyane Plumly

Who Am I?

Hi, my name is Dyane Plumly. I am down to my final two courses for my Masters in Teaching and Learning with Technology! Although originally from Whidbey Island, WA, I have lived in San Diego for the past 5 ½ years. I only planned on living in San Diego for a year or two after completing school, but the warm weather has completely made me a happy SoCal girl!

Who Am I? I live with my boyfriend of four years. I enjoy running half marathons, participating in Tough Mudder events, traveling, and cooking. In the past four years, we have traveled to eight countries and are planning a South America trip for Christmas…before we buy a house and can’t travel anymore!

Who Am I? I love food. One of the benefits of living in San Diego is that it takes me about 40 minutes to get to Puerto Nuevo, Mexico – where I can enjoy the local fried lobster for about $12!

Educational Background I am a proud University of Washington graduate. I earned my Bachelor’s in English Literature with a minor in Women Studies in 2007 and a Masters in Teaching in 2009.

Educational Background I lived in Japan until I was seven years old. Although I had already completed first grade in Japan, I repeated it when my family returned to the United States so that I wouldn’t get labeled as an English Learner (almost ironic now, since most of my students are EL’s). The high school I attended was the only one in town and lacked much rigor and engagement. I had an amazing English teacher (Mr. Winford!) in 11 th & 12 th grade who made me want to become an English teacher. However, once I went to college, my experiences working at a low-income school completely changed the AP teacher track I had originally anticipated…

Teaching Career I am currently a teacher with Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS). JCCS classrooms are often isolated classrooms and are spread throughout San Diego County. We serve students who are on probation, in or recently released from juvenile hall, have been expelled from their home schools, or have otherwise been disenfranchised from traditional school settings. In my particular school setting, we rent out a storefront and have four teachers – one Independent Study teacher, two General Education teachers, and one Special Education teacher. Our students range from 7 th -12 th grade and we teach all core and elective subjects inside our two classrooms.

It’s the moments like these that make it all worth it…

Why Ashford? In this program, and this course, I hope to gain useful tools to better serve the diverse needs of my students. As we are now integrating Common Core and changing the way that we teach, I want to ensure that my skills are where they need to be in order to use technology to enhance my student’s learning. In the future, I am also interested in teaching online classes. In my current work place, there are many Independent and Blended teachers, and I think that my learnings here will allow me to make that transition.

Quote…or a TED Talk? Although more than just a quote, this TED Talk at Changing-Learning has truly helped to shape my mindset of teaching. Changing-Learning This video encourages that rather than having a fixed mindset, we need to have a growth mindset. As a teacher, this has helped me understand how to give feedback to students…rather than “you did a great job on your spelling test,” a growth mindset type feedback might be “you did a great job trying to sound out all those different spelling words.”

And a quote, too… Encourage growth in our students so that they understand my other favorite quote (shared to me by my father, who is a middle school math teacher): Disequilibrium is a sign of new learning For me, this has always meant that struggling and being uncomfortable with content is just the first step of mastering it!

Thanks I look forward to working with all of you this course! I hope that you are all also on a similar countdown and can enjoy finishing these last 12 weeks!