Andreina Rodriguez

Biography

My full name is Andreina Frisch,  but students may call me “Mrs. A.” I consider myself a long-life learner, and currently working towards admission to a second Master’s program in Education Counseling, with an emphasis in School and Family based counseling. I earned my first Master’s in Science of Child Development, an educational certificate in Child Life, and am a Certified Infant Massage Instructor. In addition to my commitment to education, I also am an advocate for human services, such as providing my time to help others in need.  I have over 400 hours of volunteer experience of working with children in the hospital setting, hundreds of hours working with bereaved and grieving children, years of experience of working with students with specific medical and/or developmental needs, and also a current volunteer at the Child Abuse Services Team in Orange working directly with victims.

As much as I love to give myself, I recognize the importance of self-care. I enjoy graphic arts, video games, comic books, Batman, and binging on the latest Netflix original. I also am considered a health ‘enthusiast’, but feed my soul tacos and ramen from time to time; it’s called balance! Above all, I constantly give myself to our Lord and pray that He places me where I can do his work through my actions in our community.

Teaching Philosophy

My aspirations and goals as a teacher are to create outcomes in students that embody life-long learning and foster personal and holistic growth. My personal belief of the learning theory promotes learning through a strong structure that embodies competency of objectives, goals, values, and theoretical frameworks. First, as a passionate student of the human development, as a teacher I hope to induce students’ perspectives towards the importance of human growth, such as the social and emotional being, and how their role can truly influence their lifetime. Secondly, I aim to foster mastery of critical thinking abilities in students so that they may apply skills in real life situations. Advances of critical thinking skills is achieved through direct interaction with educational contexts where experience challenges students to create outcomes by implementing educational practices, and so advancing their skills. Finally, I aim to foster a deep appreciation and commitment to research in order to effectively perform and implement strategies that have been found as valid for student growth and optimal academic success based on genuine student needs. For example, my teaching approach relies heavily on the utilization of theoretical frameworks of social and cognitive theorists, such as Erikson and Piaget. My strong knowledge of their theories has shown me the importance of experience and supportive environments and how they promote optimal learning.

Learning is an elaborate process and learning styles vary from student to student. Therefore, my teaching approach heavily utilizes personal student experience and self-reflection as tools to aid life-long learning. This is achieved through interactions within educational contexts, and meaningful discussions and activities in order for students to actively participate in their own learning and accommodate skills in their own personal structure. Thus, I strive to design interactions and interventions where goals are attainable by first evaluating my students’ learning styles at the beginning of the year. My awareness of different learning styles influences my teaching and requires flexibility to adjust learning material to the individual needs and requirements, so that challenges are presented as possible rather than inhibiting students from challenging themselves. Above all, it is vital for me to be warm and provide unconditional positive regard for my students in order for them to feel supported and safe to explore material, content, and personal situations, such as through grief support. Consequently, this creates the possibility for the establishment of communication, which directly enhances their ability to actively participate in their learning as well as feed into their intrinsic motivation to perform at their maximum in school.

Finally, it is critical for my teaching to never stop developing. In order to be an optimal teacher, I must never stop being a student. It is because of this belief that I constantly immerse myself in learning opportunities, such as seminars, workshops, and online courses to intentionally improve my skills. I also utilize student and administration feedback to direct my learning to continue to develop and refine my overall teaching approach. Above all, it is my commitment that within every interaction, a faith-based framework is the guide of all my teaching moments. It is vital for my students to graduate St. Joseph School with not just the self-awareness of their emotions, strong educational skills that they may apply all their life, but also to graduate with a strong sense of Catholicism; strong values, invincible morals, and habitual discipleship.