Power teacher: Sandra Caglia

Scanning back and forth across a Dr. Rodriguez Elementary classroom filled with fifth-grade students, all sitting attentively in grouped tables, Sandra Caglia rhythmically taught a lesson about the solar system.
The second-year teacher, who came to Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District through Teach for America, uses a technique that involves gestures and performance to engage students, known as power teaching, Caglia said.
“In power teaching, you are trying to teach to the entire brain of a child,” Caglia said. “It’s sometimes called whole brain teaching. You aren’t only asking a student to memorize simple definitions. You are giving them gestures so they can act out the different motions of what they are trying to remember.”
For example, when talking about the Earth’s rotation period around the sun, Caglia raised her arm above her head, pointed her index finger down, and circled her head to demonstrate the movement to students. The students mimicked the gesture, while simultaneously singing the names of the four seasons.
“I think that power teaching can work in any classroom,” Caglia said. “I was taught by a middle school teacher. I have heard of teachers using it in kindergarten, high school and college. They aren’t simply taking notes or learning facts. With power teaching, they have to learn the facts, as well as the gestures because that’s what they need to teach their classmates.”
Incorporating power teaching into her classroom is just one of the reasons why Caglia, a psychology major at Penn State University, has become hooked on teaching, she said.
“When I was in college, I saw a billboard that said ‘can you close the achievement gap?’” Caglia said. “That really meant something to me because I have always felt that education was the reason why we have so many social injustices in our country. I thought, if I could help to close the achievement gap, that would be a big step for the country.”
During her year-and-a-half at Dr. Rodriguez, Caglia has not shied away from leadership roles. This year, she and another Teach for America teacher at Dr. Rodriguez started the school’s first fifth-grade student council.
“Working with the students’ council has been a great opportunity for Ms. Emma LePore and I because it has allowed us to work with the students to develop their leadership skills,” Caglia said.
Transitioning to the Rio Grande Valley was not very difficult because of the support system provided through Teach for America, a nonprofit organization that recruits high achieving recent college graduates and some professionals to teach in low income communities, she said.
“The biggest culture shock for me has been the weather,” she said. “I can wear flip flops on Thanksgiving here, so that took some getting used to.”