Teacher

NAME: Mrs. Jessie Westfall

SCHOOL: Duanesburg Elementary School

CLASS: 1st Grade

SCHOOL PHONE: 895-8310 ext. 401


About The Teacher

Hi, 
     My name is Jessie Westfall and this is my sixth year teaching 1st 
Grade.  I also have experience in teaching Special Education K-12 and 
substituting in those grades as well.  Some background information about 
myself is that I graduated from Duanesburg Central School District in 1999.  
I attended the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y. and got my Bachelor's 
degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Psychology in 
December 2002.  I also got my Master's degree in Reading and Literacy from 
an online college called Walden University in May 2005.

My Philosophy of Education

I consider myself to be energetic, flexible, creative, positive, and to have 
a sense of humor.  

I also believe in the following theories:
     Constructivist Theory of Learning-  Learning is an active 
     process in which the learner constructs meanings through the    
     exploration and discovery of new things.  Children from diverse   
     backgrounds need to be introduced to concepts by examples that are 
     meaningful to them.

     Vygotsky's Scaffolding Theory-  The value of cooperative 
     learning and the necessity of using culturally appropriate analogies    
     help children to build bridges from what they already know to newly 
     learned knowledge.

     Every student has the capability of learning, given the proper  
     technique and opportunity to do so.