WELCOME! I’M ELIZABETH IRENE ZEBROWSKI
Feel free to explore my e-portfolio! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you have. Enjoy!
Welcome to my online portfolio! Here is just a little peek into my life and teaching journey thus far. This portfolio serves to highlight my professional learning and growth. From a young age, I have had a strong passion for reading and writing. This passion has since merged with working with adolescents and inspiring their love for literature. I am very excited to be searching for a school community that I can call my second home! Please look through this e-portfolio and feel free to follow me on my teaching journey on Instagram, @Ms_Zebrowski.
"Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning."
-William Arthur Ward
MY EXPERIENCE
Background & Expertise
FIFTH GRADE ELA TEACHER
August 2019 – Present
Middle School ELA teacher.
Created multiple assignments to supplement the English Curriculum.
Crafted lessons incorporating technology and movement.
Gained experience in a 1:1 device school and Distance Learning.
Communicated with parents to build a team to best support their child’s education.
Participated in multiple in-service professional development days including multiple technology advancement days, and Achieve3000 trainings.
COUNSELOR IN TRAINING (C.I.T.) DIRECTOR
April 2017 – Present
Oversee 15-25 C.I.T.’s while collaborating with the staff in executing various activities.
Interview and obtain references for C.I.T.’s – appoint C.I.T.’S respective roles, rotating weekly.
Lead the C.I.T.’s in establishing a growth mindset to better their counseling skills.
Manage the delivery and flow of continuous constructive feedback from Counselors and Management to C.I.T.’s
Communicate with camp parents continuously to ensure all feedback is being addressed.
Organize, lead, and execute theme weeks to create a memorable experience for the camp.
Advise the camp staff to ensure they are a positive attribute to camp.
SUMMER CAMP COUNSELOR
May 2012 – April 2017
Led 10-15 campers (ages 8-12), through both learning and physical activities while interpreting their unique skill sets.
Utilized time management, mediated peer conflicts, provided adult support for social growth.
Collaborated closely with the other counselors creating and finding new activities to enrich the camp experience.
EIGHTH GRADE STUDENT TEACHER
August 2018 – May 2019
Professional development school student for the 2018-2019 school year.
Created an Images of America unit that integrated multiple teaching strategies.
Crafted lessons and mini-lessons using technology and movement in the classroom.
Gained experience in a 1:1 device school.
Participated in multiple in-service professional development days including multiple technology advancement days, a session on supporting Mental Health in the classroom, and department meetings.
EDUCATION
May 2019
BACHELORS OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION
Millersville University - Millersville, PA
Concentration: Middle Level English
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
I believe that the only way to improve is to consistently evaluate my teaching by utilizing performance standards. This tells me if my teaching is meeting the standards by asking team members to evaluate student work.
The names are always blocked out for privacy of students.
EARLY FIELD EXPERIENCE
Seventh grade ELA lesson: "Living Tenderly" by May Swenson
The students analysed the poem then created their own riddle poem, it was a blast!
“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.”
– J.K. Rowling
UNIT PACKET
Images of America
This packet supplied the students with our unit questions and activities so they can easily follow along. It provided the basic structure of the unit. The students also had access to a digital copy on Schoology.
INTERESTS AND HOBBIES
Read below to learn more!
READING
I enjoy reading (especially young adult books). I also look forward to anally attending the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the NCTE. A good book is a worn book!
With every student that enters my classroom it is undeniable that they are all so different and they all come from different pasts. A student's past is usually present in their writing, which is part of what makes writing so vulnerable. It is important that through my own writing, via mentor texts, I show students that I too have a past, present and a future of both my story and my levels of writing. I will encourage my students to be open to doing what works for them as writers and what does not- based off of the issues they have had with previous papers. I hope through this, they can make their own decisions about what works better for their learning and instill a sense of ownership in their work by incorporating themselves into their work.
In the classroom, I will get to know my students through their writing and prove to them that I care about them and about their success as writers and students. I will let them know I will not judge their past, only be supportive and making sure they are safe and secure.
-Excerpt from my philosophy on teaching writing
The classroom isn’t just a place for curriculum and textbooks. For the students to really learn the necessary topics the teacher has a quite a few roles. The teacher needs to create an environment where there are never “bad” questions. They need his or her students to feel comfortable and safe to say they need help or that they are not quite following the lesson. The teacher also needs to allow time for every student to respond to questions so the teacher knows how well the students are grasping the lessons and topics. The mathematics teacher also has to understand that mathematics has received a negative reputation over the years and some students may have developed a distaste of math in the past. To dispute this distaste the teacher must incorporate content as well as make the lessons more meaningful and realistic for the student. Inherently, this will mean the teacher is going to have to venture out of the curriculum which will hopefully inspire students, who do not necessarily love math, come to enjoy it.
