Dawn Braa's Child Development Blog

Dawn Braa is a child development instructor. She started teaching at DCTC in 2004.

Dawn has a master's degree in early childhood education from the University of Phoenix. She also attended Minnesota State University in Mankato, earning her bachelor's in family life/child development. She minored in early childhood education and parent education at MSU, M.

She has worked as a lead preschool teacher in Minneapolis and St. Clair, Minn. She also taught child development at South Central College in Faribault.

Listed in Who's Who Among American Teachers, she has received both CAFÉ and Giraffe grants and also won a FISH! Award recognizing her creativity and innovative spirit in the classroom.

"Teaching is a relationship between teachers and students," says Dawn, regarding her educational philosophy. "Teachers have duties to their students, and students have duties to their teachers.

She believes that her responsibility as a teacher is to provide students with:

• an environment contributing to learning
• knowledge that will help them be successful in achieving their goals
• materials, opportunities, and feedback that will help them learn
• help in becoming and remaining motivated to be successful both in their studies and in applying their knowledge in their personal/professional lives

"I will try to understand the student's point of view. I will be enthusiastic. It is critical to good teaching."

As for the best part of her job as a DCTC instructor, she loves the interaction with students, instructors, and administrators on campus. She finds the environment extremely supportive and conducive to learning.

Her hobbies and interests include rollerblading, riding bike, and spending time with her husband and preschool son.