My name is Matthew Pickwell. I am 32 years old.
I have been married for nine and a half years. We have a beautiful little one year old named Elsie Kate.
Since high school, I have had a strong interest and drive to work with young people. I have been involved in volunteering with after school programs, social work programs, and church ministries
which allow me to invest in young people. I believe children have so much negativity in their lives. We can make school a positive, rewarding and fun part of their day and impact their lives. I enjoy helping children find success and build confidence.
Take a look through the links above. They will tell you about my teaching philosophy and you can view my formal resume.

About

This will take you to a summary of who I am, where I have come from and samples of my work.
You may click on the four arrows on the bottom right to zoom.

Portfolio



MATTHEW ALAN PICKWELL

matt@mattpickwell.com

OBJECTIVE

 

Obtain a position where the utilization of my love of teaching, strong work ethic, and communication skills can be used to change young people’s lives.

 

PROFESSIONAL
SKILLS
  • Twelve years of experience working with
    character development of children.

  • Computer expertise including Video Production,
    Web Design, ActivInspire, Office Products and HTML programming.
     

WORK EXPERIENCE

 

Knox County Schools, Knoxville, TN   

January 2011-Present   

Student Teaching

 

Belle Morris Elementary – 5th
Grade

Powell Elementary – 1st Grade

Practiced the role of the teacher under the guidance of a master teacher. Duties include teaching, unit and lesson planning, tutoring, grading, designing assessments, overseeing classroom management and assisting in all areas of daily classroom experience, with a focus on:

Planning

Teaching Strategies

Communication

Learning Environment

Assessment & Evaluation

Professional Growth

 

Knox County Schools, Knoxville, TN

November 2009-December
2010  
                

Practicum Experience

 

Gresham Middle, Pleasant Ridge Elementary,
Belle Morris Elementary, and Laura Cansler Boys & Girls Club.

Performed 198 hours of practicum. Gained
practical experience within the classroom setting. Participated in a manner
determined by the supervising teacher including teaching, tutoring, grading,
designing assessments, overseeing classroom management and any other
expectations from a master teacher.

 

First Baptist Church Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, TN

June 2009-Present                                             

Family Life Minister

 

Minister to the entire church with a primary emphasis on youth ministry. Additional responsibilities include equipping and developing lay leadership for the children, youth, and family ministries of the church. Also, work with all associated church leadership teams to offer quality activities
which met the spiritual and social needs of families. Also, involved in pastoral care, education, worship leadership, spiritual direction, and outreach with the ministerial team.

Key Accomplishments:

Grew youth department by 400%.

Developed new children’s church program
which used
many teaching and learning styles.

Developed a successful Vacation Bible School
program which reached 75 children. 

 

EDUCATION

 

Tusculum College Knoxville,TN

May 2011

Bachelors in Human Growth and Learning with K-6 Elementary Education Concentration

 

Children’s Ministry Institute Warrenton, MO

August 2001

Children’s Ministry

 

PERSONAL
INTERESTS

 

Web design, Photography, RC Airplanes,
Camping and Cycling.

Formal Resume


Instructional Techniques
In an age of multi media approaches in all areas of life, teachers have to reach students in this manor as well. I enjoy creating interactive ActivInspire charts. This coupled with hands on learning, allow students to become engrossed in learning.

Promethean
Integrated Technology In Teaching I have a strong technical aptitude. I enjoy web design, building computers and work with many types of software. This has allowed me to create interactive PowerPoints, ActivInspire Lessons, movies, webquests and more. I believe this has to be a delicate balance though. You can not create flashy lessons that do not have meat and substance. They need to serve an educational purpose.

Techniques

Strengths as a Teacher

Centers

I believe I relate to students well. Students trust me, but know I am the leader and not a friend.
I thoroughly enjoy creating interactive, fun and enriching lessons. This includes my strong technical aptitude and appreciation for center/station work which allows students to interact with learning.
I enjoy finding ways to encourage and cultivate student participation. If a student is insecure about a skill, I provide opportunities for success and encourage growth from success.
I am a team player. I believe as teachers, we all have strengths and by working together in planning and executing, we can form a stronger team.

Strengths

How Do I Allow for Individual Differences?
Differentiated teaching. I believe you have to change the approach through a lesson to reach all learning styles and to keep the lessons fresh. No one learns exactly the same way. They may be a kinesthetic, visual or auditory learners, or a blend of all. Lessons have to be planned in a way
that keep students engrossed and allow them the best opportunity for learning and success. This includes authentic assessment. Authentic assessment allows the students to show their full understanding and see the value of the new skill.

Differentiate

Differentiate