Teacher Spotlight: Stacy Garber
Teacher Name: Stacy Garber
Office Location: Harrisburg
Currently teaching: 8th Grade Gifted and Talented Social Studies
How do you build relationships with your students?
Building relationships with my students is very important to me. I do this by sharing facts about myself in LiveLessons, using my webcam, allowing students to share a talent they have with classmates before our lessons, fostering discussion, and being open and patient with students in all interactions.
How do you engage your students in the learning experience?
Giving students a certain amount of freedom of choice within lessons and assignments allows students to find something interesting in history that creates a higher level of engagement. I also try to recreate historic moments through what if scenarios, videos, and photos in my livelessons. For example, students get to participate in a class Oregon Trail activity in the spring semester where they do different activities and pick fate cards to learn about their journey west for 6 weeks. Any time I visit a place of historical significance, I make short videos of myself in that place to capture my students' attention as resource.
What are some of your favorite ways to check for understanding in the LiveLesson room?
Students like the opportunity to use the microphones and present what they learned or report on a topic to the class during LiveLesson time. I also found using a modified version of the game Taboo with vocabulary words is a fun review. The randomizer web applet is also a favorite among students to answer questions.
When you’re not working, how do you spend your time?
Outside of work I spend my time coaching high school field hockey and girl's lacrosse. This November the FH team is defending our State Championship title for a "three-peat" from 2012 and 2013. I also travel, enjoy running, and read for fun.
What might we be surprised to know about you?
I enjoy long hikes if they can be completed in a day. Carrying a heavy backpack is not my favorite thing in the world but seeing the beauty of nature is great fun.
Thanks for sharing, Stacy! Keep on rocking!
Never stop learning,
Ashly