All 20 Teaching Profiles | PLA Demonstration Gallery

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Amelia Rowan

Canada

Stage: Kindergarten · Kindergarten
Nationality: Canadian
Subjects: Early Literacy, Early Mathematics, Storytelling
Languages: English, French
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in early childhood education; postgraduate study in children's language development
Illustrative experience: 12 years

A child's drawing can tell Amelia as much as a finished worksheet. She asks children to talk through what they have made, then uses their words to connect speaking, early reading and writing. Her background in early childhood education and language development supports twelve years of work with mixed readiness groups, including children learning through more than one language. She began by creating activity packs for families and still favors materials an adult can prepare easily. Storytelling runs through her teaching: a paper theater, a retold event or a counting problem with characters gives each short activity a clear purpose.

Teaching approach: Ask the child to show an idea with objects or a drawing before explaining it in words.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Mateo Villaseñor

Mexico

Stage: Elementary School · Grades 1–5
Nationality: Mexican
Subjects: Mathematics, Science, Geography
Languages: English, Spanish
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in environmental studies; postgraduate study in elementary education
Illustrative experience: 7 years

Designing activities for a small science exhibition taught Mateo to take children's questions seriously. A visitor asking why two containers held different amounts could turn a demonstration into a lesson about measurement, estimation and fair comparison. His environmental studies background and later elementary education study brought those interests into classroom teaching. He now connects mathematics, science and geography through projects using paper, string and reusable containers. Students record how they checked a result, not just the answer. Mateo keeps an illustrated notebook of neighborhood walks, and observations from those pages often inspire a map exercise or a question about changing light.

Teaching approach: Use an everyday measurement, then ask the student to explain how they checked it.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Isadora Paiva

Brazil

Stage: Middle School · Grades 6–8
Nationality: Brazilian
Subjects: English Language Arts, Media Literacy, Visual Storytelling
Languages: English, Portuguese
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in language education; diploma in visual storytelling
Illustrative experience: 18 years

Who will read this, and what do they need to understand? Those questions guide Isadora's work in English language arts and media literacy. Before teaching, she prepared short texts for a community magazine, learning how a small editorial choice could change a reader's impression. Her language education and visual storytelling studies now meet in assignments that combine passages, illustrations and everyday media messages. Students compare openings, examine how an image supports a claim and revise for a different audience. Eighteen years of teaching have strengthened her preference for precise comments: point to a passage, explain its effect and leave the writer a meaningful decision.

Teaching approach: Compare two versions of a paragraph and identify which choice better serves the reader.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Lucía Arbeláez

Colombia

Stage: Elementary School · Grades 1–5
Nationality: Colombian
Subjects: Science, Reading, Project Learning
Languages: English, Spanish
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in primary education; additional study in introductory biology
Illustrative experience: 4 years

Lucía likes projects that reward a second look. A seedling measured on Monday or a drawing revisited on Friday gives children a reason to compare records and reconsider an explanation. She first became interested in education while helping organize a neighborhood growing project, then studied primary education and introductory biology. In her elementary work, science investigations sit alongside short informational texts, so children practice reading for a purpose. She asks them to separate what they noticed from what they expected. A labeled drawing or one additional observation often becomes the next step. Making ceramic plant markers gives her another way to combine careful observation with practical work.

Teaching approach: Separate an observation from a prediction, then record what happened in a labeled sketch.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Eleanor Whitcombe

United Kingdom

Stage: High School · Grades 9–12
Nationality: British
Subjects: English Literature, Academic Writing, Research Skills
Languages: English, French
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in literature; master's degree in education
Illustrative experience: 29 years

Eleanor welcomes different interpretations of a text when students can show how they reached them. Across twenty-nine years of secondary teaching, she has worked with introductory literature groups, extended writing projects and learners returning to demanding reading after losing confidence. Her earlier manuscript preparation work informs the attention she gives to language and structure. She may spend time on a single sentence before opening a discussion about the whole scene. Longer assignments develop through decisions about evidence, organization and revision, drawing on her literature and education studies. On coastal walks, she keeps a handwritten journal of places, practicing the close description she asks of her students.

Teaching approach: Choose a short passage, make an interpretation and test it against the author's exact words.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Niamh Keegan

Ireland

Stage: Kindergarten · Kindergarten
Nationality: Irish
Subjects: Early Mathematics, Oral Language, Creative Play
Languages: English, Irish
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in childhood learning; postgraduate study in play-based curriculum design
Illustrative experience: 9 years

Before entering early years education, Niamh organized props and schedules for small theater productions. She still notices how a familiar cue, a well-chosen object and a clear role can help someone join an activity. Her childhood learning and play-based curriculum studies shaped a teaching practice built around movement, sorting and conversation. A repeating pattern might become a sequence of steps; a missing object might begin a story about number. Niamh sews reusable fabric shapes and invents cooperative games that need little equipment. For families, she describes one skill to watch for and a short way to practice it without extending the session unnecessarily.

Teaching approach: Turn one learning goal into a short game, then ask the child to describe the rule.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Camille Delaunay

France

Stage: Middle School · Grades 6–8
Nationality: French
Subjects: Mathematics, Geometry, Design
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in mathematics education; diploma in product design
Illustrative experience: 16 years

Camille asks students to sketch what a problem means before they commit to a calculation. Comparing a drawing with the final result often exposes an assumption that would otherwise remain hidden. Her route from prototype drawing to mathematics teaching brought a lasting interest in dimensions, models and checking an idea early. Mathematics education and product design studies support sixteen years of work connecting visual representations with precise language. Students build paper forms, compare solution methods and explain where those methods agree. Camille also restores simple wooden furniture, where a careful measurement matters as much as a convincing sketch. Her classroom questions keep that connection between reasoning and practical checking visible.

Teaching approach: Sketch the relationship first, solve the problem, and check whether the result fits the sketch.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Jonas Albrecht

Germany

Stage: High School · Grades 9–12
Nationality: German
Subjects: Computer Science, Mathematics, Digital Citizenship
Languages: English, German
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in computing; postgraduate study in secondary education
Illustrative experience: 13 years

An unexpected result gives Jonas somewhere to begin. He encourages students to trace a small example by hand, read an error message carefully and isolate one possible cause. Earlier work maintaining tools for a small logistics team taught him how much clear explanations matter to the people using software. After studying computing and secondary education, he brought that practical attention into high school teaching. His projects include explicit input limits, simple tests and a description of the intended user. Mathematics and digital citizenship sit alongside programming decisions. Building mechanical puzzles remains a favorite pastime, especially when he can document a solution someone else can follow.

Teaching approach: Trace a small example by hand, write the code, then test an ordinary case and an edge case.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Giulia Bellandi

Italy

Stage: Elementary School · Grades 1–5
Nationality: Italian
Subjects: Visual Arts, Reading, Social Studies
Languages: English, Italian
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in primary education; diploma in visual arts practice
Illustrative experience: 21 years

A timeline, a labeled illustration and a story map can each reveal something about how a child understands a topic. Giulia uses visual work to connect reading, social studies and art, making the purpose of a project clear before students begin. Her teaching grew from weekend drawing workshops into twenty-one years of elementary education, supported by studies in primary teaching and visual arts. She asks children to explain a choice in their work before suggesting another technique. Looking carefully matters more to her than producing identical pictures. Her own sketchbooks fill with household objects, and she makes notebooks from leftover paper to encourage frequent, low-pressure experimentation.

Teaching approach: Use a drawing to organize information, then explain one choice that helps the viewer understand it.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Zofia Malinowska

Poland

Stage: Middle School · Grades 6–8
Nationality: Polish
Subjects: Science, Earth Science, Data Skills
Languages: English, Polish
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in earth science; postgraduate study in science education
Illustrative experience: 6 years

Zofia wants a graph to answer a question. Before students collect measurements, she asks what they need to compare and how a reader will understand the scale. Organizing environmental data for research projects first made her aware of the misunderstandings that poorly explained figures can create. Earth science studies and later science education work gave her ways to teach those distinctions. She photographs changing clouds and builds cardboard models, bringing both habits of observation into accessible investigations. Students describe patterns, consider what a model leaves out and separate a sound observation from a conclusion that needs more evidence. Her comments help them make that final connection explicit.

Teaching approach: State the question, label the measurements, and explain what the evidence can support.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Kateryna Verbytska

Ukraine

Stage: High School · Grades 9–12
Nationality: Ukrainian
Subjects: Mathematics, Statistics, Study Skills
Languages: English, Ukrainian
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in applied mathematics; master's degree in mathematics education
Illustrative experience: 24 years

Two plausible answers can make a useful mathematics lesson. Kateryna asks students to compare the methods behind them and explain the assumptions each method requires. Preparing numerical summaries for a planning team gave her an early appreciation of the difference between calculating a number and interpreting it. She later studied mathematics education and has spent twenty-four years teaching secondary learners. Applied mathematics, statistics and purposeful revision form the center of her work. Longer tasks begin with a brief plan and end with a check of what needs revisiting. Designing logic problems and repairing bicycles both appeal to her habit of finding the point where an otherwise sensible process breaks down.

Teaching approach: Compare two methods and explain the assumptions that make each one appropriate.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Deniz Erdem

Turkey

Stage: High School · Grades 9–12
Nationality: Turkish
Subjects: World History, Geography, Source Analysis
Languages: English, Turkish
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in history; postgraduate study in humanities education
Illustrative experience: 11 years

A historical source can be useful and incomplete at the same time. Deniz begins there, asking students who created a document, what question it helps answer and which voices remain absent. Organizing material for a local history collection shaped those interests before history and humanities education studies led to teaching. In high school assignments, maps and timelines provide context for comparing accounts. Students distinguish a source's wording from their own interpretation and connect each claim to a specific detail. Deniz draws route maps after long walks, an exercise that also raises questions about selection: every map emphasizes some features and leaves others out.

Teaching approach: Identify a source's perspective and connect each historical claim to a specific piece of evidence.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Mariam Nassar

Egypt

Stage: Kindergarten · Kindergarten
Nationality: Egyptian
Subjects: Early Mathematics, Early Literacy, Learning Routines
Languages: English, Arabic
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in early childhood education; postgraduate study in curriculum planning
Illustrative experience: 15 years

Mariam tests the directions for her homemade board games by watching someone try to play. That habit carries into her teaching: when a child hesitates, she considers whether the task itself needs a clearer explanation. Fifteen years in early childhood classrooms and work developing learning materials have made concise instructions central to her practice. Her studies in early childhood education and curriculum planning support activities with a short direction, an example and a natural checking point. Children retell a story event or show a counting idea in their own way. Mariam then identifies the first confusing step and offers a prompt that leaves the next attempt to the child.

Teaching approach: Give one clear task, invite an independent attempt and review the first confusing step.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Imani Wekesa

Kenya

Stage: Kindergarten · Kindergarten
Nationality: Kenyan
Subjects: Early Literacy, Movement, Discovery Activities
Languages: English, Swahili
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in early childhood learning; diploma in creative movement education
Illustrative experience: 8 years

Listening, moving, making and explaining each have a place in Imani's early learning activities. A child might act out a story sequence, sort objects by a chosen feature or change one part of a balancing challenge. Leading creative movement sessions first drew her attention to the relationship between action, language and concentration. She later studied early childhood learning and creative movement education, building a practice that gives children several ways to show understanding. Her notes to families describe what the child demonstrated and suggest one practical prompt. Simple balance sculptures and rhythms made with household objects provide a steady source of ideas for short, focused discovery tasks.

Teaching approach: Let the child act out an idea, describe what happened and try one small change.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Tobi Adebayo

Nigeria

Stage: Middle School · Grades 6–8
Nationality: Nigerian
Subjects: English Language Arts, Drama, Communication
Languages: English, Yoruba
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in language and performance studies; postgraduate study in secondary education
Illustrative experience: 10 years

Reading a passage aloud often helps Tobi's students hear where its meaning becomes unclear. He uses dialogue, drama and revision to explore how language changes with an audience. Writing scripts for small educational performances was his first route into that work; language and performance studies, followed by secondary education study, took it into the classroom. A lesson might turn a passage into a conversation or reshape a speech as a concise paragraph. His comments ask what the reader needs at a particular moment. Repairing audio equipment and recording sound pieces from ordinary indoor spaces keep him attentive to the difference between receiving a message and understanding it.

Teaching approach: Name the audience, read the work aloud and revise a passage that leaves the meaning unclear.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Ananya Kulkarni

India

Stage: Elementary School · Grades 1–5
Nationality: Indian
Subjects: Mathematics, Science, Problem Solving
Languages: English, Marathi, Hindi
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in primary education; additional study in mathematics instruction
Illustrative experience: 5 years

Ananya carries a notebook of small puzzles, many developed from the paper patterns she likes to weave. She uses that same interest in representation when children move from objects and sketches toward mathematical symbols. Her first education activities grew around a children's reading group, followed by primary education studies and additional work on mathematics instruction. Organizing science demonstrations also taught her to give an engaging task a clear learning goal. Students compare strategies and explain what each makes easier to see. When reviewing work, Ananya concentrates on one connection between a drawing and a calculation, helping the learner strengthen the reasoning before adding more practice.

Teaching approach: Represent the problem with objects or a sketch, then connect that representation to the calculation.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Haruto Mizuno

Japan

Stage: Middle School · Grades 6–8
Nationality: Japanese
Subjects: Science, Engineering Design, Mathematics
Languages: English, Japanese
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering; postgraduate study in science education
Illustrative experience: 20 years

A paper bridge that bends can offer Haruto's students a useful result. The next question is which change to make, what to measure and how to tell whether the change helped. He brings an earlier background in mechanical drafting, engineering studies and science education to twenty years of middle school teaching. Simple levers, paper structures and controlled comparisons connect scientific concepts with observable effects. Students record predictions and revisions, so their learning remains visible even when a design needs more work. Haruto draws machines from observation and restores old hand tools. Both interests reinforce his attention to how a small feature influences the behavior of a larger structure.

Teaching approach: Change one design feature, record the result and explain what the comparison reveals.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Seo-yun Han

South Korea

Stage: High School · Grades 9–12
Nationality: South Korean
Subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Scientific Writing
Languages: English, Korean
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in biological sciences; master's degree in science education
Illustrative experience: 17 years

Paper models help Seo-yun discuss structures too small to observe directly, but she always asks what the model leaves out. Her biological sciences and science education studies support teaching that connects useful representations with evidence. Before entering the classroom, she prepared and checked records for laboratory studies, developing a careful approach to what an investigation can establish. In high school biology and chemistry, students build explanations from data or clearly described observations. Seo-yun's comments focus on the connection between a claim and its support. Botanical drawing gives her another way to study detail, while her lessons ask learners to name a limit alongside their conclusion.

Teaching approach: Connect the model to evidence and state one limit of the explanation it provides.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Mikaela Soriano

Philippines

Stage: Kindergarten · Kindergarten
Nationality: Filipino
Subjects: Early Literacy, Creative Arts, Early Mathematics
Languages: English, Filipino
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in early childhood education; additional study in children's art activities
Illustrative experience: 3 years

Mikaela makes room for an answer that arrives as a gesture, a spoken phrase or a picture. Young children can show understanding in many ways before they write independently, and she wants their own ideas to remain visible. Creating illustrations and activity sheets for children's workshops first drew her toward early childhood education. Her degree studies and additional work in children's art now inform stories, sorting tasks and simple construction activities. Miniature cardboard rooms often inspire settings for her paper figures and classroom stories. She encourages adults to record what a child actually said, then offers one practical extension that gives the child something new to try.

Teaching approach: Accept a spoken answer, gesture or drawing, then offer one prompt that extends the child's idea.

FICTIONAL PROFILE

Rowan Hartley

Australia

Stage: Elementary School · Grades 1–5
Nationality: Australian
Subjects: Reading, Social Studies, Science
Languages: English, Italian
Illustrative qualifications: Bachelor's degree in primary education; postgraduate study in children's nonfiction
Illustrative experience: 26 years

When two short accounts do not quite agree, Rowan sees an opportunity for a useful question. Students separate what they know from what the material says, then decide which missing detail would help. Twenty-six years of elementary teaching and experience developing children's activity books inform this approach to reading, science and social studies. Questions from young readers sharpened his interest in clear explanatory language, supported by studies in primary education and children's nonfiction. He also repairs radios, keeping sketches of parts as he works. The same patience appears in his feedback: locate the unclear connection, choose a relevant detail and check whether the explanation now holds together.

Teaching approach: List what the material supports, name the missing information and choose a useful next question.

Teaching profile gallery