Diane Schulteis

Teaching philosophy

Important skills I want to teach my students

I want to teach the children to love to learn and become successful problem solvers. I encourage both independent and cooperative learning, and I want my students to take pride in their own successes, as well as celebrate the accomplishments of others.

Teaching methods that reach these goals

I utilize group introductions, and both small group and individual instruction and projects. I also use thematic units and multi sensory approaches to different subjects. I seek to capitalize on teachable moments and take advantage of the children’s rich experiences and interests to create learning opportunities.

My favorite projects

It’s hard to narrow down to one favorite, but I do love the idea of teaching off the world map, “traveling” from continent to continent. Each continent has some very exciting units we teach. For example, while we are studying about the continent of Europe, specifically England, we learn to tell time while talking about Big Ben. Australia gives us a wonderful unit on penguins, and while learning about our own continent we learn about the migration of the Monarch butterfly from Canada down to Mexico.

What I like best about teaching at Seven Hills

The fact that everyone believes in each other and has fun teaching! It’s wonderful to be able to teach to the children’s interest and motivation. The ability to change it up yearly based on the students’ interest and needs is what makes it so successful. It also allows me to do my best teaching as well.