Mrs. Coxen: I’d love to share a bit about my teaching philosophy! This is my 8th year at Medlock Bridge, and second year in TAG. I teach every grade at MBES – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE teaching TAG, and I can’t believe it took me 6 years in the general education setting to determine that! I got married in March to my wonderful husband Stephen and moved to Decatur. (Some may recognize my maiden name, Ms. Serafin.) We have a sweet Boykin spaniel named Jackson!
I believe it is a true gift that I have the opportunity to invest in your kids, so thank you! I’m passionate about learning and wanted to share my heart and vision for the classroom. I’m a big vision caster and truly believe in developing students’ habits of mind over a desired product or result. We set a lot goals and have desired outcomes, but I function on a growth model – I expect every student to progress throughout the year, regardless of where they begin!
Each child is unique and qualified for gifted with a unique combination of tests, so a growth mindset projects a posture rather than an absolute of passing or failing. I love TAG for so many reasons, but especially since it is an environment to really take risks (without fear of failure) since we do not have letter grades. Instead we evaluate (along with the students self-evaluating) using the Talented and Gifted standards – students are observed using: does not meet, approaching/needs improvement, meets the standards, and at times, exceeds the standards.
TAG students are used to earning high letter grades, so we try to minimize the “exceeds” standard and instead emphasize the fact that TAG students have the same standards from Kindergarten to 12th grade – so that each student is continually pushing and growing….therefore earning a “100” in 4th grade wouldn’t demonstrate the true capacity of the standard. Differentiation really takes a new meaning in TAG as we grow together!
In my opinion, the TAG student is never “done” because I believe these students are truly the problem solvers/inventors/creators/developers of the future! I love to connect students to experts, and we are constantly having guest speakers, skyping, or sending in questions to companies. Our last letter we sent ended in an interview with the head of our local Chick Fil A as we pursued energy solutions for the 21st century! I hope my passion and enthusiasm for real-world learning and creative thinking will truly inspire your children beyond the walls of this classroom.
I believe it is a true gift that I have the opportunity to invest in your kids, so thank you! I’m passionate about learning and wanted to share my heart and vision for the classroom. I’m a big vision caster and truly believe in developing students’ habits of mind over a desired product or result. We set a lot goals and have desired outcomes, but I function on a growth model – I expect every student to progress throughout the year, regardless of where they begin!
Each child is unique and qualified for gifted with a unique combination of tests, so a growth mindset projects a posture rather than an absolute of passing or failing. I love TAG for so many reasons, but especially since it is an environment to really take risks (without fear of failure) since we do not have letter grades. Instead we evaluate (along with the students self-evaluating) using the Talented and Gifted standards – students are observed using: does not meet, approaching/needs improvement, meets the standards, and at times, exceeds the standards.
TAG students are used to earning high letter grades, so we try to minimize the “exceeds” standard and instead emphasize the fact that TAG students have the same standards from Kindergarten to 12th grade – so that each student is continually pushing and growing….therefore earning a “100” in 4th grade wouldn’t demonstrate the true capacity of the standard. Differentiation really takes a new meaning in TAG as we grow together!
In my opinion, the TAG student is never “done” because I believe these students are truly the problem solvers/inventors/creators/developers of the future! I love to connect students to experts, and we are constantly having guest speakers, skyping, or sending in questions to companies. Our last letter we sent ended in an interview with the head of our local Chick Fil A as we pursued energy solutions for the 21st century! I hope my passion and enthusiasm for real-world learning and creative thinking will truly inspire your children beyond the walls of this classroom.