Hi! I’m Ms. Nowak

Welcome to my teaching portfolio.

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About Me:

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my mixed race identity positioned me at the intersection of communities that demonstrated stark educational inequities. This experience sparked my interest in educational justice, which has since transformed into a passion for teaching social studies. My own academic path led me to pursue my undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Southern California, where I took particular interest in the developmental psychology of adolescents. Currently, I am student teaching while pursuing my teaching credential in secondary social science and M.Ed. through the Teacher Education Program at UCLA. Being a transplant to the Los Angeles area, I am excited to learn more about our city and state’s history alongside my students. Outside of education, I have many interests, particularly in the realms of fine and performing arts. As a teacher, I look for opportunities to bridge these interests — as well as the interests of my students — into the classroom. As a lifelong learner and a fundamentally curious person, I am continually humbled by all that I learn through working with my students.

Philosophy of Education:

I consider it my duty as an educator to help my students use their existing assets to develop the social studies content knowledge necessary to approach the world with both agency and empathy. Simultaneously, I aim to help them develop the skills needed to succeed in work and/or academia, and encourage them to take pride in and ownership of the work they do. In order to meet the learning needs of all of my students, I utilize data and knowledge of my class to integrate appropriate scaffolding and differentiation into my lesson plans, working to anticipate barriers to learning before entering the classroom. Perhaps most importantly, I aim to create a classroom environment where my students feel physically and psychologically safe, supported, and cared for — as I consider these conditions prerequisites for meaningful learning.