My first decade and a half in education have been quite a whirlwind of adventure, growth, and learning. My wife Heather and I decided to pull up our roots and venture abroad, and we have not looked back. Our three years of teaching ESL in South Korea taught us to love the international lifestyle and to step outside of our comfort zones. We then moved to Egypt where I worked as a classroom teacher at The American International School of Egypt- West Campus. While there, I grew as an educator and as a leader. Relationships with students were always at the heart of my teaching.

It wasn’t until moving to Bahrain at Riffa Views International School that I really began to open up and develop the desire to disrupt the traditional school ideals. Having great leaders in my time at RVIS has helped me develop my own passions for designing authentic learning experiences, developing agile learning spaces, and building constructionism into my classroom. I then was hired for the opportunity of a lifetime to help plan, design, open and manage the second location of LEVEL 5 within RVIS. This two years impacted me as an educator more than any before it and truly prepared me for my past role designing learning experiences for STEAM classes in the Cayman Islands with elementary students and taking on the role of EdTech coach in later elementary and middle school.

I am again on the move with a change to High School Design. This will be a move to work with the only group of students I have not yet worked with. I am excited to learn and grow as an educator and explore the art of making at a higher level!

PLC: Reflections on Cases in Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates