Differentiated+Instruction+-+About+Us

Here is a brief bio of each member of our working group. (Each member create a brief biographical paragraph, include a photo if possible.)


 * **Toni Theisen**: Bio: I have been teaching French in grades 7-12 for 33 years and I still love it. I was born in Ohio and I spent my first year teaching there, but I was in such of mountains and sunny skies. So a vision quest road trip led me to the beautiful state of Colorado. I live in Fort Collins but I teach in the "romantic city" of Loveland, Colorado, where each February one can find hundreds of wooden hearts hanging everywhere and a post office decorated with pink crepe paper and red hearts. Loveland also is known for is International Sculpture Show every August when thousands of people come to the see the art work of sculptors from all over the world-an excellent opportunity for all our language students to use their skills. For 10 years I owned an antique ice cream bicycle business and sold ice cream in the streets. What an adventure!! The bicycle is now in the Fort Collins museum as part of the history of the city. I love to travel and I have been to many Francophone countries and I have taken many students to France in these 33 years. I currently live in Fort Collins with my great dachshund--Jordy. I have been very active in the foreign language profession and have served on many committees and boards. But for sure, the two that have had the most impact on me in the last several years have been serving on the committee that developed the standards that led to National Board Certification (I was part of the first group to get certification) and being a board member of the ACTFL Executive Council. I served as the program chair for the 2004 and 2005 ACTFL Convention and I had many opportunities to be in contact with those during very important research and those developing all kinds of new strategies and emerging technologies. Keeping true to my passion for learning I became very involved with the district Gifted and Talented committee, which gave me the opportunity to work with Carol Ann Tomlinson. Differentiated instruction became my focus, both for the district and for my classes, hence my involvement with this wonderful institute. || [[image:IMG021_2.JPG]] ||
 * **__Susann Davis:__** It is quite obvious, according to my blonde-haired, blue-eyed sister, that there was a mix up at that Texas hospital where I was born. How else can it possibly be explained that the daughter of Kentuckians would want to learn to speak Spanish, or would prefer tequila to bourbon? There were probably others who doubted my lineage as well, at least until it was time to learn to dance. It then became painfully apparent that I simply have too many generations of Baptist blood running through my veins to be able to move my hips as required to salsa. I grew up as a “park brat”, living in different states and never really knowing how to respond when asked where I was from. However, as an adult, I’ve finally figured it out: I’m a Kentuckian-Montanan, who was born in Texas and has a Nebraska-ish accent and Mexican tastes: both in home décor and culinary arts. I recognize two seasons: basketball season and travel season. I'm another one of those "uppity women" who has kept my maiden name. My husband and I have two churro-eating kids. I have been teaching Spanish at Western Kentucky University for the last seven years, and for fun, I teach Spanish at my daughter’s elementary school. Currently I am learning wire (jewelry) work and tap dance (no hip movement required). || [[image:churros.JPG]] ||
 * **__Greta Lundgaard:__** I am not a native Texan, I was born in Oklahoma, but I've lived here so long I feel that I am. When I was in school I was very commonly asked, "Are you an exchange student?" because of my name. I began teaching English, then taught Biology, and ended up teaching German for 14 years. I've been in the North Texas area since 1988, and I've been a LOTE curriculum coordinator since 2000. I've been lucky enough to meet fantastic people and have great experiences both when teaching and since I've been a coordinator. My husband Mike Flynn is a transplanted Chicagoan---South Side---, and my daughter Lindsey is starting her junior year at college this fall. || [[image:IMG_0145.JPG width="256" height="206"]] ||
 * **__Martha Pero:__** Bio Hi all, I am finally on! I was born and raised in Ohio. I have been teaching Spanish for 22 years and am still learning how to do it right! ha ha I had never really thought about being a teacher, and I got my teaching degree as a backup. Well, after my first job I have never looked back. I love teaching. I have a variety of interests. I am the department chair in my H.S. and am the senior lead mentor for the district so I help new and veteren teachers. I was recently elected vice president to the Ohio Foreign Language Association. That's how I got here. I love technology too. I just received a $20,000 grant from eTech to try out some new ideas in my classroom. So, I hope I learn a lot from you guys. I have to say that getting my National Boards has really helped me jump start my career and stay current. I have had so many opportunities because of it. I did some lesson writing for the Ohio Department of Ed. to go with our new state standards. I really enjoy working with my colleagues and collaborating. My family is great too. My daughter Holly just graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and will be designing dashboards for Honda starting on Monday. The sad part is that she will be taking my granddaughter Haley with her to Columbus. I sure will miss them even though they will only be 2 hours away. My son is studying civil engineering. My husband and I live in a small town with our three dogs and three cats, and oh, my mooching college son Nick. || [[image:Martha.jpg width="259" height="201"]] ||

And in an effort to get to know each other, respond to the following questions:

1. One thing that you should know about my life is . ..
Toni Theisen: I believe that through chaos true change emerges.

Susann Davis: My New Year's resolution was to enjoy life because I have a hard time finding a balance between work, family and play.

Greta Lundgaard: It looks out of control but really isn't.

Martha Pero: It is as chaotic as it looks, but I love every minute.

2. One thing that I’d like to know about you is . ..
Toni Theisen: Why did you decide to teach?

Susann Davis: What do you consider your biggest achievement in life?

Greta Lundgaard: what was the road that brought you where you are today?

Martha Pero: Do you like to collaborate?

3. Three ideas or experiences that have significantly influenced my philosophy of teaching and learning are . ..
Toni Theisen: 1. Traveling and living in Francophone countries; 2. going through National Board Certification; 3. working with Carol Ann Tomlinson

Susann Davis: 1. Stephen Krashen and the Natural Approach; 2. Experiencing the first language acquisition of my own children; and 3. the use of authentic images and websites.

Greta Lundgaard:1. A workshop in 1994 given by the folks from Long Island City Schools, NY, on communicative teaching; 2. //Making Communicative Language Happen// by Lee & Vanpatten; 3. presentations by Grant Wiggins, Jay McTighe, & Carol Tomlinson

Martha Pero: 1. Traveling to Spain, Guatemala, Colombia and Mexico. 2. Having a father once ask me at open house, I took four years of Spanish and can't say a word, how are you going to make it different for my son? 3. Listening to Alan November talk about the new millineum learners.

4. One way that my thinking has changed over the course of my career so far is . ..
Toni Theisen: that there truly are multiple paths to learning

Susann Davis: that I have gained more appreciation for diverse learning styles and diverse methodologies.

Greta Lundgaard: in my definition of 'teaching against the standards'.

Martha Pero: Sometimes students have better ideas than I do about how they want to learn. Be flexible.

5. The primary reason I wanted to attend this institute was . ..
Toni Theisen: to collaborate with new people in order to create new visions.

Susann Davis: to continue growing in my field and to become more involved with teacher preparation at my university and through my association with the Kentucky World Language Association.

Greta Lundgaard: to be better trained and equipped to lead my teachers and contribute to our profession

Martha Pero: I am a lifelong learner always wanting to better myself, and now wanting to give back to my profession.

6. One of the ways that I think this institute will challenge me is . ..
Toni Theisen: to seeing differentiation in different venues.

Susann Davis: I don't have a lot of formal training in pedagogy and my only work in P-12 system is volunteer work. I have a lot to learn.

Greta Lundgaard: to get a larger perspective than that of my own favorite issues.

Martha Pero: to design compelling experiences.

7. One of my biggest pet peeves in working with others is . ..
Toni Theisen: seeing things only one way

Susann Davis: when others don't fulfill their responsibilities.

Greta Lundgaard:focusing on the constraints/legacy practices/traditions instead of focusing on how to best implement the task.

Martha Pero: a closed mind or constant negativity. (Susann, they really did have the wrong e-mail for me!)

8. One thing that I hate to do when it comes to collaborating with others is . ..
Toni Theisen: word processing the final document

Susann Davis: having to get out my whip, no, my wand. Scratch that. I hate to feel unprepared.

Greta Lundgaard: being the 'secretary'.

Martha Pero: I really can't think of anything. I don't particularly like to be the secretary either, but it's o.k.

9. One thing that you should know about working with me is . ..
Toni Theisen: I multitask a lot (sometimes too much)

Susann Davis: I'm a type A personality. To sit still I often take notes or make lists, but I am paying attention.

Greta Lundgaard: I'm a fast processor, and I don't really like to talk about myself.

Martha Pero: Even though I am seriously working, I like to joke around too.

10. I hope that you will be patient with . ..
Toni Theisen: my persistence

Susann Davis: my tendency to sit back and absorb before jumping into a group discussion.

Greta Lundgaard: my wild ideas

Martha Pero: my joking!

11. When it comes to technology, I am not comfortable . ..
Toni Theisen: when I cannot figure out how to manipulate things.

Susann Davis: with techno-talk. I maintain a (lame) webpage and have a working knowledge of the technology I use regularly, but I don't have the lingo down.

Greta Lundgaard: I'm comfortable with technology--I get frustrated when it does not work the way it's supposed to.

Martha Pero: When it doesn't work. I love technology and I usually can figure things out quickly.

12. What I would like to learn about technology is . ..
Toni Theisen: load things like streaming audio and video.

Susann Davis: my next project is to redo my website using Dreamweaver. I think I can do it, I just find it difficult to find the time. I am interested in podcasts and online educational tools.

Greta Lundgaard: how to make it easy for teachers to implement.

Martha Pero: I didn't know some of the things on the survey, but I will probably look them up before I come because I can be an overachiever too. Also some new ideas of how to use my $20,000 worth of computers, Web cams, video cameras and headphones.