About Sr. Maisaa

Assalam Alakum.  My name is Maisaa Tizani.  I am from Yabrood in Syria and I have lived in the United States since 1996.  I am married with four children, ages 11, 8, and 3 (twins!).  I am an observant Muslim and I went on Hajj in 1999.  I currently teach Pre-Kindergarten, level 1.  This is my third year to teach this class. 

I completed my education in Syria and I am currently on track to receive my degree in Child Development from Austin Community College in the fall of 2009.  I have completed the CIRCLE Language and Literacy Training and I have also completed The First Step to Building a Reader: Language Development in Pre-K training.  I am certified in CPR.  Finally, based on my written proposal describing a language development program I developed for pre-kindergarten students (called "Learning to Love Language"), I was awarded an A+ Education Fund grant to implement my program,also this year I award an A+ Education Fund grant to implement my program based on my written proposal describing a language development program I developed for pre-kindergarten students(called"let's integrate learning").

I enjoy teaching young children a great deal.  I believe in teaching children by positively reinforcing their natural excitement for learning.   I have a number of goals for my students this year that focus on their mastery of age appropriate skill-sets in the following areas:  Emotional; Social; Cognitive; Physical; Self-Expression; and Language and Literacy.   

Emotional Development

I will assist my students' emotional development as follows: nurturing their positive sense of self; emphasizing the importance of respecting all people (we all have similarities, we all have differences); teaching the importance of taking responsibility for the decisions we make and that our actions have consequences; demonstrating and reinforcing compassionate and empathetic behavior; helping my students label and manage their emotions; and, modeling and reinforcing behavior that is respectful of their environment and classmates.  

Cognitive Development

I will promote my students' cognitive development as follows:  developing their problem solving skills (through play, hands on tasks, and various learning exercises); emphasizing the importance of asking questions; engaging my students in directed play that involves units of measure and quantitative skills (e.g., less, more, the same); engaging my students in directed play that involves one-to-one correspondence; teaching my students to recognize numbers and begin to master their counting skills; and assisting my students in the development of their representational and symbolic thought.  

Physical Development

I will assist my students' physical development by helping them develop their fine motor control, large motor control, and self help-skills. 

Self -Expression

My students' ability to express themselves creatively will be fostered through an environment that emphasizes respect of others and through the students' interaction with varied, open-ended materials that encourage self expression (art, music, creative/imaginative play).  

Language and Literacy

I will focus on improving my students' language and literacy skills as follows:  developing their verbal and nonverbal communication; modeling and emphasizing the importance of active listening; teaching the alphabet; practicing conversational skills; using language to resolve problems in the classroom; exposure to written language; exposure to English and Arabic; and developing the concept of "story" through the use of books, storytelling, music, poetry, and play. 

I thank you for the opportunity to teach your children.   

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