LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Tiffany Wood was nominated anonymously.

In Ms. Wood's classroom, she creates a positive environment by incorporating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into daily instruction to help students build empathy and develop self-awareness. Students learning how to self-regulate are allowed the opportunity to manage those big emotions, focus on their goals, and still know it's okay to feel those feelings. Also, she displays her students' work, with a picture of them above, to honor their effort, which encourages pride as their identity is being celebrated and recognized.

In addition, she personalizes math word problems and other curriculum by using the student's names and experiences to make it more relevant and engaging. She incorporates games into learning to keep the learning fun. Throughout the year, she uses Kagan structures and other cooperative learning strategies to promote teamwork, active participation, and the goal of equitable participation. The use of these structures creates a classroom community filled with respect, and the students positively support each other.

Finally, she recognizes the rich cultural backgrounds of the students in her classroom. She does her best to integrate their traditions, holidays, languages, and experiences into her lessons to help create connections. She does her best to make a positive, safe, inclusive classroom that celebrates diversity where all students are valued, secure, and ready to learn.

Career Accomplishments:

• Costen The Art for Teaching Alumni
• Master's in Education - Curriculum and Instruction, CSULB