"Hello Wyzant learners, I’m Kristen! I am a passionate, enthusiastic, and driven former teacher with 12 years of teaching experience. In those 12 years, I taught kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade reading, 1st and 2nd grade multi-grade, 2nd grade, and 1st grade, and for the last 2 years, I was a reading interventionist. In 2019, I was a Teacher of the Year Nominee. I graduated from The University of Iowa in 2009 with a degree in Elementary Education, and received my Master’s in Writing from Regis University in Denver, CO in 2022.

As a student, school was incredibly difficult for me. I was a reluctant learner who knew she was behind. With that awareness came lowered self-esteem and a lack of investment in my own learning. As a classroom teacher and reading interventionist, I had several students over the years who reminded me, of me, when I was in school. However, I refused to let them have the same experience that I had. I promised myself that I would be the teacher that I needed and wanted, that I would teach my students the way I would want to learn. My philosophy has always involved a “coach-student” framework, and is centered-around the idea that if I’m having fun teaching, you’re having fun learning. My goal as your teacher is to design and deliver lessons that engage you in learning as a whole, authentic, exciting, personalized, learning-forward experience, rooted in and connected to your personal interests; to cultivate a learning environment where you feel welcomed, safe, and encouraged to take learning risks and question things critically; to set goals with you and provide you with everything you’ll need to achieve them; and to help you see that everything you bring to the table is an asset. I’ll know I’ve done my job when you achieve your learning goals, see yourself confidently, and see yourself having fun learning.

Please feel free to contact me for more information!

My math experience includes:

-Piloted Bridges math program for 1st grade

-Solid understanding and implementation of tools and" less...