“My experience in the LTEC department was transformative... My time in the program gave me the tools to return to the classroom as a more enthusiastic and effective teacher.”

Department

Learning Design and Technology

COEAA Spotlight on Sherri Uecke (Credit: Lori Furoyama)

Growing Up

I was a military kid and spent my childhood in Ohio, Kentucky, Germany, Texas, and then Hawaiʻi where I’ve lived for over 30 years now.

Road to College

My education was a challenge because of frequent moving. Many times, I’d move to a new place and have to catch up or find a way to fill in gaps. It was stressful. Nonetheless, there were a few teachers who influenced me profoundly by helping me develop my strengths and find my passion. Those experiences inform my teaching and give me empathy for ways my students struggle. I became interested in education during my senior year of high school when I had a job tutoring middle school students. In college, I majored in journalism and speech. Eventually, I found my way to teaching a couple of years after I graduated from college.

Career Path

My experience in the LTEC department was transformative. I entered the program soon after the Covid pandemic and wanted to learn how to navigate technology more efficiently and effectively, and I also wanted to use technology to engage students and help reduce equity gaps. My time in the program gave me the tools to return to the classroom as a more enthusiastic and effective teacher. More recently, I’m using my newly acquired web building skills to create writing tools that scaffold reading and writing tasks for struggling students.

I’ve been an English Language Arts (ELA) teacher for about 18 years now, and I’ve taught students from kindergarten to the 12th grade. I’m currently a middle school ELA teacher.

Best Part of the Job

I’m passionate about helping students think for themselves and develop the motivation to succeed. I love it when students ask compelling questions about literature and life and when they persist through difficult learning challenges.

Future Plans

I’m intrigued with AI and how it will impact education. There are still lots of questions around Ai replacing humans, but I see this as an opportunity to help students leverage their uniquely human skills of imagination and empathy to speak and write in ways that promote unity in the world.

Three Fun Facts

1. I operated a wooden roller coaster as a summer job during college.
2. I learned to swim as an adult after moving to Hawaiʻi.
3. I’m the mother of twins.