My name is Hayley O'Reilly and I am a passionate fourth grade teacher in Downers Grove Elementary School District 58. Since graduating University of Dayton in 2013, I have been lucky enough to move back to my home city of Chicago and teach in the same district I grew up in - talk about coming full circle! I earned my masters degree in 2016 in Teaching and Learning: Differentiated Instruction from the University of St. Francis, and am currently working toward my Technology Specialist Endorsement through the same university.
As evident from my continued educational pursuits, I am very intrigued by any and all opportunities in furthering education and professional development. I find great joy and inspiration from working with and learning from others. I truly believe that collaboration is the catalyst for new, creative, and innovative ideas.
In my classroom, the ultimate goal is to challenge students every single day. When presented with challenges, students always rise to the occasion all the while developing academic, social, and emotional strategies that will help them succeed far beyond our fourth grade classroom. I love to see the children critically evaluate problems and light up with excitement once solutions are discovered. I encourage my students to make mistakes and grow from them, celebrating shortcomings and obstacles as opportunities to make us more flexible and knowledgable about our desired outcome.
I strive to find new ways to engage students in a multitude of ways - whether through artistic, scientific, technological, or social outputs, offering students the opportunity to explore their strengths and develop ways to overcome their weaknesses. The discovery and use of new materials and ideas in my classroom is always an exciting experience for my students and I. These experiences are always shared and reflected upon as we decide which ideas are the most fun or meaningful - ten year olds are never shy to express their budding opinions! Thus, this E-Portfolio was designed as a place to share, reflect upon, and revise strategies, lessons, and activities which take place in my classroom.
Thanks for joining me in my quest for a fun, effective, and engaging fourth grade class!
As evident from my continued educational pursuits, I am very intrigued by any and all opportunities in furthering education and professional development. I find great joy and inspiration from working with and learning from others. I truly believe that collaboration is the catalyst for new, creative, and innovative ideas.
In my classroom, the ultimate goal is to challenge students every single day. When presented with challenges, students always rise to the occasion all the while developing academic, social, and emotional strategies that will help them succeed far beyond our fourth grade classroom. I love to see the children critically evaluate problems and light up with excitement once solutions are discovered. I encourage my students to make mistakes and grow from them, celebrating shortcomings and obstacles as opportunities to make us more flexible and knowledgable about our desired outcome.
I strive to find new ways to engage students in a multitude of ways - whether through artistic, scientific, technological, or social outputs, offering students the opportunity to explore their strengths and develop ways to overcome their weaknesses. The discovery and use of new materials and ideas in my classroom is always an exciting experience for my students and I. These experiences are always shared and reflected upon as we decide which ideas are the most fun or meaningful - ten year olds are never shy to express their budding opinions! Thus, this E-Portfolio was designed as a place to share, reflect upon, and revise strategies, lessons, and activities which take place in my classroom.
Thanks for joining me in my quest for a fun, effective, and engaging fourth grade class!
Hayley, from reading your blog you seem very passionate about engaging students in innovative ways! Your focus on teaching children that mistakes are okay to make in the learning process is vital in growing as a learner. I look forward to working with you in class as we explore technology integration! ~Lisa G.
ReplyDeleteHayley, sounds like you're ready for the challenge! I, too, am excited to bring knowledge to my students and challenge their thinking.
ReplyDeleteHi Hayley! I agree that collaboration is probably the coolest aspect of technology - for teachers to collaborate with their peers and with their students, and for students to collaborate with each other. It totally changes the learning environment.
ReplyDeleteHayley, I love your goal for each day - challenge yourself! I have the same goal. I truly believe that students rise up to our expectations when we have high expectations for them; the moment they realize they challenged themselves and succeeded is the best!
ReplyDeleteHey Hayley! I'm really excited to learn about how to assess & improve our instruction utilizing technology! Looking forward to collaborating with you in this course!
ReplyDeleteHi Haley! I see you are from Downer's Grove and this is very close to me, I am in Villa Park but teach in Cicero. I like how you said that you encourage students to make mistakes. I do to and make sure students know that that is ok, and I won't get mad for trying. A lot of my students are shy and so I need to encourage them to share more to the whole group. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Hayley,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your positive teaching strategies and passion for creating a safe learning environment. I think that I would really enjoy observing you and your students experimenting and learning with or without technology.
Karen
Hi Hayley.
ReplyDeleteYou have such great and positive comments to make about your students and your role as a teacher. I'm sure that all of your students absolutely love your class. I look forward to reading about your effective practices in your classroom and learning from you!
Take care and thanks for sharing,
Lisa Vondrak
Hi Hayley! I like you comment about how we need to challenge students on a daily basis with our curriculum and teaching practices. Your encouragement of allowing students to make mistakes is an excellent way for them to learn in the classroom environment. I believe that your students will truly be appreciative of your efforts to allow your students to grow in the classroom with their academics and technology.
ReplyDeleteHi Hayley, you have a great web page. You seem very passionate about finding exciting ways to engage your students. Good luck with your Technology Endorsement.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Chad Kelly