Mark Fairbank
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    My vision for exemplary science teaching focuses on students and the dynamic environment which is necessary for learning.  I have found that education occurs when the learner is active in mind and body.  This includes emotions as well as all parts of the mind or learning styles.  Learning is not the teacher acting upon the students rather it is the interaction between the students and teacher in a process of discovering new and exciting concepts.  I live with the attitude that all learning is new for the person who is learning and that the learning environment is enhanced through the ability of the teacher to listen and see the world through the eyes of the student.  The way to discover what a person is learning is to listen.  I have found that about sixty percent of what a student says is through their body language, thirty percent through how they say what they are saying and ten percent based upon the words used.   Listening to the students allows them to expand what they learn as they are describing.  The learning becomes clearer through the sharing process.  The classroom environment through which I facilitate learning is one where students are allowed to inquire while expressing excitement and enthusiasm.  I provide exploratory learning experiences which are based upon an upward spiral of learning concepts and themes in science as well as learning modalities.  I know that people have different means through which they learn.  These include:  interpersonal, interpersonal, linguistic, logical mathematical, bodily kinesthetic, musical and spatial.  Learning occurs as students acquire and integrate knowledge followed by the extension and refining of the knowledge and finally through their meaningful use of the knowledge.
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