Lori W. White, M.A.Ed. (434)
Family is very important to me, and the primary reason I am interested in online education. After teaching high school English for around 5 years, I made the difficult choice to become a stay-at-home- mother to deal with a child’s respiratory illness. I continued to stay home afterwards. I now have three wonderful children, pictured here— Autumn, 15, Lawson, 12, and Truitt, now almost 3. We live on a 25 acre farm just outside Lynchburg, Virginia.
It was difficult to come up with a single image that best represents who I am. At my core, though, I am a storyteller, and a lover of stories in any form. I love books, poems, short stories, movies, and the story that is told, even, in a photograph, image, or musical composition. From the time I was old enough to form letters and string them together in coherent sentences, I was composing tales, writing letters, and even the odd instructional manual. Later, after giving birth to my first child, I picked up a camera and taught myself how to compose stories through a camera lens. For that reason, these implements of my passions and crafts—writing and photography—best represent me as a person.
I was educated in our city’s public school system, and although in the early years of my academic life we moved around a great deal (I think I was in three different schools prior to grade two), we soon settled into a single district that was phenomenal. I was blessed to have excellent, committed teachers and to have been placed in an accelerated program called the “GO Center” for advanced learners. This instilled a strong desire to achieve within me, as well as a genuine love of learning. I knew at a young age that I wanted to be a teacher, and there were many experiences that reinforced this idea. Some of the most memorable were the afternoons I went next door to “teach” my neighbor, Lisa, a special needs young woman who was perhaps five to eight years older than I was. I saw nothing unusual in the relationship; simply enjoyed the challenge of trying to teach Lisa things she didn’t know.
As a recent graduate of the Ashford University Master’s of Education in Reading Literacy program, I developed and sharpened skills I possessed, becoming versant in: designing challenging learning experiences informed by analysis of how learners develop individually across cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical patterns employing differentiated instructional practices aligned with learner strengths and differences, diverse cultures, and diverse communities to promote student learning in a safe, collaborative, engaging, inclusive, 21st-century learning environment. designing a variety of evidence-based assessments used for ongoing evaluation of student progress and to guide teacher and learner decision making. planning and executing an action research study that draws on the research and methods of various disciplines to address educational issues. designing learner-centered instruction aligned with Common Core State Standards, digital-age standards (ISTE-S), and 21st-century skills engaging in continuous professional growth through leadership in educational environments and the demonstration of legal and ethical behavior in professional practices. utilizing knowledge of subject matter and central concepts of the discipline(s) to create technology-enriched learning environments that promote learner achievement and innovation. effectively communicating and collaborating with various stakeholders through written communication, verbal communication, and a variety of current and emerging digital age tools to ensure learner growth and to advance the profession. utilizing a range of digital technology tools to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information while exhibiting an understanding of ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of information technologies.
Teaching online courses Pursuing a doctorate in education Continuing studies in literacy, particularly young adult differentiation technology in education Assessment curriculum