Sheila R. Wyatt

OBJECTIVE:

·         Experienced, energetic professional educator seeking to secure a position as a graduate student in the Anthropology, M.A. program at Northern Arizona University.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS:

·         Over 18 years of professional teaching experience including:

                                     · Curriculum Development

                                     · Technology Integration and Instruction

                                     · Articulation & Evaluation of Instruction

·         Related Skills:

                        . Cooperative Learning                                              . Multiple Intelligences/Learning Styles

                        . Conflict Resolution                                                  . Multi-Cultural Education

                        . Staff Development                                                  . Leadership

                        . Standards-based Instruction/Assessment             . Project-based Learning

·         Computer Literacy:

                        . Internet Applications                                                 . Web Page Design/Multi-Media

                        . Interactive Projects                                                   . Staff Training & Development

                        . Networking tools                                                       . Gifted & Talented Education

                        . Technology as an Instructional Tool                        . Productivity Applications                           

·         Personal Strengths:

                        . Emphasize discovery, problem solving, and experiential learning techniques.

                        . Energetic, enthusiastic and dedicated professional with good leadership skills.

                        . Excellent organization and planning skills... Adapt easily to new learning situations.

                        . Maintain excellent professional relationships to foster respect and effective                                                             communication.

                        . Comfortable and experienced developing rapport with and lending support to individuals                                             from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. 

                        . Conversational Spanish skills

                        . Excellent classroom management skills.

EMPLOYMENT:

            COLORADO RIVER UNIFIED HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, Bullhead City, Arizona

            Mohave High School, Technology Instructor, 2003-Present

            . Member of, and contributor to, the district’s Technology Committee

            . Instructor / Facilitator, Applied Technology I and II.

            . Technology I – the objective of this course is to develop information technology skills that are necessary for students to be successful both in school and beyond using applications in the Microsoft Office  Suite.

            . Technology II – the modules in this course are designed to introduce students to today’s key                                 technologies. The program consists of 11state-of-the-art equipment and software bundles with carefully crafted, expertly written curricula. It offers a variety of topics in order to address key technologies, such as communication, robotics, production and design.

            ESCUELA CAMPO ALEGRE, Caracas, Venezuela

            Elementary School Information Technology Coordinator, 1999-2003

            . Collaborated with teachers in integrating technology into the core curriculum.

            . Provided training and technical assistance to teachers and office staff.

            . Directed and supervised the Primary School Technology Coach and ES Lab Assistant.

            . Member, Leadership Team, Vision Steering Committee.

            . Directed technology efforts for special functions, i.e. assemblies, back-to-school, and highlights.

            . Met with individual teachers to develop lesson plans, objectives and training for technology integration.

            . Created and implemented the use of rubrics for technology assessment.

            . Developed and maintained the Elementary School web page.

            . Identified trends in software, curriculum, teaching strategies, and new resources. 

            . Took a leadership role in developing and implementing the instructional use of technology.  

            INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF DUSSELDORF, Germany

            4^th Grade Teacher, 1998-1999
 

            . Successfully integrated curriculum instruction for international students.

            . Member, Information Technology Committee

            . Member, Policy Committee

            OJAI UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Topa Topa Elementary School, Ojai, CA

            6^th Grade Teacher & Technology Coordinator, 1993-1998
 

            . Developed a computer class involving Internet multimedia applications for gifted and talented                                      students.

            . Supervised installation, configuration and user support for a 32-station computer network (LAN).

            . Utilized community resources to support dramatic production of Social Studies & Literature                               curriculum.

            . Implemented an interactive on-line science unit utilizing Dr. Robert Ballard’s JASON project.

            . Supported development of the Ojai Unified School District Technology Use Plan.

            . Wrote a successful grant application for development of a student-published community Internet                           resource.

            . Taught all curriculum elements in a self-contained combination classroom for 5^th & 6^th grades.
 

            OJAI UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, San Antonio Elementary School, Ojai, CA
 

            Physical Education Specialist, 9/89-6/93

            . Utilized physical education to promote physical, mental, emotional, & social development of                                   students.

            . Developed lesson plans within the context of comprehensive health curricula.

            VENTURA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, De Anza Middle School, Ventura, CA
 

            Substitute and Long Term Teacher, 3/86-6/89

EDUCATION

            THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY

            . Master’s Degree in Education, 6/03

            CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE

            . California State Teaching Credential, 5/94

            . Cross-Cultural, Language & Academic Development, (CLAD) Certificate, 7/96 (ESL)

            UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SANTA BARBARA

            . Bachelor of Arts, Cultural Anthropology, 1979          . Multimedia Applications, 1997

            . Navigating the Internet for Educators, 1996                . Adobe Photoshop I & II, 1998

            CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

            . SmartBoard in the Classroom, 2002                           . Computer Using Educators (CUE), Member

            . Flash for the Web, 2002                                               . Web Design Classes

            . Language Development in Children, 1999                   . Writing Across the Curriculum, 1988

            . Elem. P.E. Workshop, Cal Poly, San Luis
              Obispo, 1992

Letter of Intent
Graduate College
Northern Arizona University
Department of Anthropology                      

I was born in Big Spring, Texas, and my parents always tell me that it was during a terrible sand storm, of proportions I have not experienced except for that very day.  My father was an air force pilot and he was an instructor there at the base we were living on.  Because of my father’s job, we were never in one place for more than a year or two.   While I was growing up we lived in Europe and both the east and west coasts of the United States.  It was during these years that the human quality of adaptability became increasingly apparent, and necessary.  

When it was time to enter college my mother suggested that I try a course in Cultural Anthropology that she had found very interesting.  I signed up for it during my first semester.  I was hooked.  I felt that I had found the explanations for all the things that I had felt, observed and wondered about.  In reality, I ended up with many more questions about the human condition than I could have imagined.  My interests piqued in the areas of textiles, Native American studies, and South America.  I did lab work cataloging artifacts from Mesoamerica.  I worked on digs at Chumash sites in the Santa Barbara area.  I helped with mapping sites.  I took advantage of every opportunity afforded me to explore various cultures.  Upon graduation from university with a BA in Cultural Anthropology my dreams were to continue my education and work professionally in the field.  

Practicality set in and I had to get a regular job to make a living, but my dream has always lived on, not only inside of me, but externally as well.  I am currently a teacher and have been teaching for 18 years.  I decided that one way to fulfill my dreams of exploring other cultures was to teach internationally.  I have been doing that for the last 5 years, working in both Germany and Venezuela. My vacations have always been to places of anthropological interest.  The reading that I do for pleasure takes on the appearance of research.  My friends refer to me as “the guide” when we are traveling.  

I think of myself as adventurous, kind of old age spiritualistic, skeptical, adaptable and forgiving.  I believe that my upbringing deeply instilled these qualities and some have been hard to rearrange.  I fit these into Hidalgo’s three aspects of culture. Concretely, the things I could touch, the artifacts, would be the geographic locations themselves. Behaviorally, in response to those, I learned how to live in other places, among other cultures and religious beliefs, not to be afraid of them, or of changes in them.  It built a sense of self-reliance.  It’s what I could count on.  I suppose that in itself is the abstract.  All of these characteristics are based on self-reliance.

Of these characteristics, adventurous, spiritual, skeptical, adaptable and forgiving, I think that the one that most plays out in my current teaching would be my spiritualism.  Not only did my childhood upbringing play an important role in developing this quality within me, but my adult life has as well. In university I studied cultural anthropology.  I have spent my own time studying religious and spiritual philosophies, Buddhism, Native American spirituality, and Zen thinking to name a few.  I have visited with primitive peoples in the jungles of Amazonas. I have lived and worked overseas. I have found there to be a very unifying principle underlying almost all of the approaches to spirituality.  Most importantly, in relation to my teaching, would be the respect of humankind and nature, the cultural differences and similarities of peoples around the world, and even the basis of the mythologies surrounding them. 

My goal in applying to the Master’s program at Northern Arizona University is to fulfill my life-long dream of working as an anthropologist.  I saw on the website that the objective of the Applied Sociocultural Emphasis is to prepare one for professional employment.   Upon completion of my M.A. I would like to work in applied anthropology doing research, management, or advocacy.  Ultimately, I would like to pursue a doctorate in the field as well.  I have been away from anthropology, academically, for 25 years and feel that your program will get me current with new theories, policies, trends and practices.  I am confident that I will be successful in the program, as all my recent studies have landed me a 4.0 grade point average.  I also feel that I could make beneficial contributions to the department because I am a conscientious, hard working, professional. 

Northern Arizona University is the best place for me to continue my education and fulfill the goals of a lifetime.  It is situated in the heart of the American Southwest, which has always held great interest for me.  Your connections with the local and state agencies are an invaluable resource.  The internship program provides me with the ability to work and study in a field in which I am passionate.  The research that the faculty is doing is so varied and cutting-edge that I would be pleased to work with any of them.  I look forward to establishing an academic relationship with the department.