My name is Kris Dunphy. I have a few years’ experience working in International schools in Seoul such as Dulwich College Seoul and Seoul International school where I taught grade 3 for 2 years.
I have worked very hard over the years to create interesting and relevant lessons for children with dramatically disparate levels of English speaking and writing abilities. Teaching a standards-based curriculum to ESL students has necessitated an incredible amount of differentiation in the classroom. It has meant identifying specific, learning needs and backwards planning from these standards to create targeted learning to help advance students not performing at grade level. It has also meant making connections with parents, soliciting their help at home with reading/writing journals and most importantly; managing expectations in a healthy and positive way.
In Korea, teaching students with disparate levels of English reading and writing abilities has forced me to be creative in the manner in which I approach instruction in the classroom. Knowing that there will normally be students not performing at grade level, I have used the levels of mastery indicated in the student skills, as they are found in the common core learning standards, to help indicate what grade level my students are performing at. Once I know just how far apart my students are in their learning, I can start to reduce their zones of proximal development by filling in the holes in student learning with informed, differentiated instruction. I have also had a great deal of success, using the standards to create learning objectives with my students to create rubrics together, that help to self-regulate student learning and to inform the students exactly what is expected of them in their work.
I have had a great deal of fun volunteering with students, both after school and on the weekends; with such activities as soccer, basketball, choir, as well as being responsible for organizing a chess team at Dulwich College Seoul that participated in the KAAIC chess tournaments with other international schools in South Korea.
I will thank you, in advance, for any consideration you might afford me for this position. I am also including a few safe links to some of my teaching if you like.
Warm regards,
Kristopher Dunphy
BA, (Bachelor of Arts Degree, Major in English Literature)
BEd, (Bachelor of Education Degree)
MEd (Masters of Education Degree in Curriculum Design.. (graduated with distinction,4.0 GPA)
Theory Of Knowledge (cert 1)
TOEFL Certified (with practicum)
Seoul, South Korea
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