A Life In the Classroom

My name is Alexis Harris, and I am currently a senior at CU Boulder. I am majoring in English Literature, while also getting my Secondary Education Licensure and a Minor in Creative Technology and Design (previously Technology, Arts, and Media).

Hi! My name is Alexis Block and I am a first year graduate student in the School of Education, working towards an MA in Curriculum and Instruction. Previously, I graduated from CU with a BA in English, obtaining a teaching licensure in Secondary Education and a minor in Technology, Arts, and Media! My main focuses throughout my college career have been creative pedagogy, digital design, and web development, and I’ve loved finding ways those passions can intersect. I love learning myself, and love learning broadly, and that’s why I’m in 3 separate colleges at CU! It’s also one of the main reasons that I have decided to spend my life in a classroom. I strongly believe that I can learn as much from my students as they can from me.

In between projects, I read when I can and spend time with family! If I’m not in the classroom, I’m probably keeping up with my Broncos and playing a pickup game of soccer.

Teaching Statement

When I was in high school, I stumbled upon a Bill Nye quote that I have held as my favorite ever since: “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t”. As I am now finishing my teaching licensure, I see now that this quote is also representative of my teaching philosophy.

If there is one thing that I can say to sum up all my learning from my past four years in the classroom, it is that all of my students are all so incredibly intelligent and that I still have a lot to learn—from them, and from my world. I am a very firm believer that none of my students are “dumb” or “stupid” as some of them may claim themselves to be. We often grow up in a traditional world that tells us if we are not good enough in certain subjects, that we are failures or that we are unintelligent. I have seen students who needed help with math homework every single day in my academic support classes create the most beautiful pieces of art I’ve ever gotten the privilege to view. I have met students who absolutely hate writing English papers, but that could solve a math equation in the time that it takes me to pull out my calculator. I have seen students who are failing their classes at school successfully take care of a family that they are supporting at home. No one student is the same, no one student is intelligent in the same way, and I believe that is what makes teaching so special.

I believe that my job as a teacher is not to force students to be successful in my classroom or even in my own version of success, but to aid them in discovering or working towards their own versions of success. The reality is that most of the students I have in the classroom will not be pursuing the same career path or future that I am now. My job as a teacher means that I need to meet students where they are, instead of punishing them for not being where I want them to be. While I have been given the authority to control their learning for a class period a day, students are not empty containers that I can imbue my knowledge into. The classroom should be a space where we all learn from one another, from teacher to student, student to teacher, and student to student. As Bill Nye said, we all have something special to give one another if we’re actually given the space to do so.

One of the main ways I do this in my classroom is by forming what I consider to be the most important foundational block in teaching: relationships. In order to meet my students where they are and help them work towards their versions of success, I need to know who they are first. I get to know my students’ passions, their interests, their hopes, their strengths, and their weaknesses within the classroom. This process takes place not just over the first week, but throughout the semester, as I try to maintain an environment where my students feel comfortable bringing those parts of themselves into our community.

After creating those relationships, I begin having conversations with those students to create individualized learning plans for them to achieve what they hope to get out of my English classroom. Though creating individual assignments for each individual student in my classroom is not possible, I always try to give my students both autonomy and choice within their learning and assignments. Recognizing the different levels of interest, achievement, and ability within the classroom, I create assignments that leave room for growth and leave room for student voice in any way that I can. Yes, I still teach the basics and essential knowledge, but allow students to take their learning in whatever directions they want to go. One student looking into politics and law might chose to analyze a bill proposal over a student who is interested in English who choses to analyze a piece of classic literature or modern literature. Both students reach the standards they need too—both students learn to analyze a piece of literature and glean important information from it. They just do it in a way that caters to their interest, their preferred areas of “intelligence”, and their own versions of success.

In my experience, teaching is not just about reaching those standards or the grades students receive at the end of the day. Schools should prepare students for their futures, yes, but for the futures that they want for themselves. Giving students those choices and ownership over their learning has not only opened up my students’ possibilities for learning, but has also created a community of diverse learners representative of our diverse abilities, our diverse identities, and our diverse minds. My job as a teacher is not to churn out robots who can repeat the latin roots back to me in perfect tandem. My job as a teacher is to support these diverse thinkers while hopefully fostering a lifelong curiosity along the way.

Resume

RESUME PDF

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts in English

4.0 GPA | Graduated: May 2022

MAJOR: English with a teacher licensure in secondary education | MINOR: Creative Technology and Design in the College of Engineering and Applied Science | PRAXIS 5038 SCORE: 195

Masters in Curriculum & Instruction

4.0 GPA | Anticipated Graduation: December 2023

FOCUS: Literacy Instruction | ENDORSEMENT: Reading Teacher K-12 | CERTIFICATE: Digital Humanities

CERTIFICATION

Initial Colorado Secondary Teacher Licensure

FEB 2023

Endorsed in English Language Arts (7-12) in the state of Colorado with English Learner Professional Learning Designation met.

Reading Teacher K-12

JAN 2024

Endorsement by state of Colorado after two full years of teaching, however Reading Endorsement anticipated by Florida DOE following reciprocity agreement in Jan 2024.

SKILLS OVERVIEW

  • Literacy Support & Intervention
  • Individual Lesson Planning
  • Whole Course/Curriculum Planning from Scratch
  • Research-based Instructional Practices
  • High-Stakes Decision Making
  • Leadership & Coaching
  • Google Classroom, Microsoft Office, Canvas, and Other LMS
  • Technological Literacy and Digital Pedagogy

TEACHING WORK EXPERIENCE

*Student Teacher

New Vista High School, Boulder, CO | August 2020 – May 2022

  • Taught multiple self-created units in Foundations of Writing (9th grade), Women’s Literature (9-12) and Philosophy (9-12)
  • Created from scratch, taught, and graded two entire classes independently following Colorado State Standards: Dystopian Literature and Concept of Identity Through Literature (9-12) across multiple quarters and with over 80 students, most of which had IEPs requiring additional support
  • Experienced Teaching in both online and in-person settings, and learned how to be flexible with lessons and students in the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Contributed to a unique choice charter school setting that enabled me to think creatively around what my class community, curriculum, and assignments might look like when students are encouraged towards excellence
  • Worked in rigorous program focused on student success, requiring that all students do high quality work and earn a grade of A or B in core classes for full credit

*Teaching, Learning, and Technology Initiatives Coordinator

Arts & Sciences Support of Education Through Technology in the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Colorado, Boulder | August 2022 – Present

  • Helped faculty create accessible resources and lessons for their students and theuniversity using the Universal Design for Learning framework
  • Aided faculty in publishing multiple multimodal open educational resources online via web publishing
  • Developed an Active Learning Card Deck as an open educational resource for faculty and other educators to reference in their classrooms
  • Provided workshops and office hours for various technological needs across campus
  • Taught students and faculty web development and design in heading the online web-hosting service offered by the university called BuffsCreate
  • Served on multiple hiring and funding committees and contributed to decision making to disperse up to $200,000 in funding to applying educational teams
  • Worked as a mentor in the Innovation Incubator for faculty and students
  • Served on multiple panels as an expert in both student and educator perspectives

*Tutor & Mentor

Engagement Center, Boulder High School, Boulder CO | August 2019 – December 2019

  • Helped faculty create accessible resources and lessons for their students and the university using the Universal Design for Learning framework
  • Developed an Active Learning Card Deck as an open educational resource for faculty and other educators to reference in their classrooms
  • Provided workshops and office hours for various technological needs across campus
  • Taught students and faculty web development and design in heading the online web-hosting service offered by the university called BuffsCreate
  • Served on multiple hiring and funding committees and contributed to decision making to disperse up to $200,000 in funding to applying educational teams
  • Worked as a mentor in the Innovation Incubator for faculty and students
  • Served on multiple panels as an expert in both student and educator perspectives

DESIGN WORK EXPERIENCE

*Head Intern of Sko Together Design Challenge

University of Colorado, Boulder | Summer 2020

Creating a student led initiative to help undergraduate students at CU Boulder foster connections despite pandemic restrictions. Responsibilities included creating the challenge website, creating the challenge brand, student outreach, and running the challenge when it was built.

*Head Intern of Collective to Advance Multimodal Participatory Publishing (CAMPP)

University of Colorado, Boulder | August 2020-Present

Working as an intern to help faculty members of the university publish their research under the open pedagogy framework. Projects include logo design, website development and design, and branding redesign for various faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

*Design Specialist

Mission Spark, Denver, CO | April 2020 – May 2021

Working with the non-profit organization, I am contracted out to Mission Spark’s design partner companies to create graphic products using Adobe Creative Cloud. Previous projects include an infographic for the Colorado Tourism Office, a Company Roadmap for employees, and a Maternal Heath pamphlet.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

*Generation Exchange

Boulder, CO | January 2019 – December 2019

An organization that matches college students with older generations that need technological help. Every other Saturday, students meet with their mentee to help them understand how to use various devices, from iPads and tablets, to laptops, to phones.

*Mentor and Tutor

Boulder High School, Boulder, CO | Aug 2019 – Dec 2019

Working in Boulder High School’s “Engagement Center”, a program which provides support for students who would benefit from mentoring and interven-tion in a structured environment. I worked with re-engaging these students in their education, and worked to help them love learning again in a system they felt had failed them.

*Tutor

“I Have A Dream” Foundation, Boulder, CO | Jan 2018 – Dec 2018

As a tutor for this organization, I come in every week to work with kids from low-income families who often speak English as a second language to become more confident in their studies and schoolwork.

HONORS AND AWARDS

*Boettcher Scholarship Recipient

Colorado | 2018

Competitive scholarship awarded to 42 of the top scholars of Colorado based on their academic accomplishments, leadership, and involvement in the community.

*Dean’s List for College of Arts and Sciences 

University of Colorado, Boulder | August 2018 – May 2022

Award for achieving a 4.0 GPA in all six of my semesters so far at the university.

*Gazette’s Best and Brightest

Colorado Springs, CO | April 2018

Awarded along with 14 other students, being named the best and brightest of Colorado Springs, recieving an article about each of us in the local newspaper.

TECHNICAL STRENGTHS

Computer Languages                                 HTML, CSS, Python

Design Programs       Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro