Kel's Klass

Let's create experiences! I am a five year curriculum/instructional designer with 15 years of experience in the classroom. I bring interactive and hands-on experiences to you and your students in way they can enjoy and remember what they are learning. My time in the classroom ranges from 2nd grade to 6th grade, as well as music and a 3rd/4th split classroom - all with high ability/gifted and talented students in some capacity. Currently, I am an instructional designer for a higher ed institution. I create experiences for my students that are simulation and problem-based interactivities. In both scenarios, I use my elementary education background, as well as my degrees in Educational Psychology, Instructional Design, and my high ability certification to go beyond paper/pencil assessments and push for a learning experience that allows for deeper thinking and application.

My teaching style is hands on and inquiry based in each subject. Students are encouraged to develop their own questions and dig deeper, after general comprehension is mastered and formed. I encourage students to continue their pursuit of interest after a unit or lesson has been completed. Technology is continually a source that students will need to be familiar with (as well as their teachers) and I try to use various technologies in the classroom to expose my students in their research endeavors. Much of my content can be used in a classroom or virtual setting. Adjusting assignments for LMS (Canvas, Blackboard, etc) use is something with which I will happily assist!

Teacher of the Year Nominee: 2017, 2018 Kid's Discover XCurricular Winner: 2021 "Shining Moments" occur each May, when I am invited to graduation open houses of my former students. To see how they have grown and strived to be the amazing people they are becoming is considered a great success for me. In those times, I also get to reunite with families that I created close connections to during the school year. "Once a Brownie, always a Brownie!"

Indiana University (Bloomington) 2003 - Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education (Technology Endorsement, Music Minor) Ball State University (Muncie) 2011 - Master of Science in Educational Psychology (Gifted and Talented Endorsement) Grand Canyon University (Phoenix) 2023 - Master of Arts in Instructional Design (Curriculum Creation)

Teaching has been my passion since I was in elementary school. I enjoyed the creativity and excitement that each of my teacher role models (including my own MOTHER!) brought to the classroom each day. Except for a short stint in which I was determined to be a ballerina, I came back to my senses in middle school, knowing that education was the way for me to go. In 2019, I realized I enjoyed creating the student experiences (not assignments or tests) more than the physical teaching itself. As an instructional designer, I work with other instructors and teachers to make content meaningful and applicable to their students (both in the classroom setting and online). My passions (other than education) include my husband (Tim), our daughter (Reese), and our fur baby (cat - Richie). I'm an avid reader (some have described me as a Book Dragon vs. book worm), as well as a Muggle Born Ravenclaw, Coffee Connoisseur, and Life-Long Learner.