Greeting his students with a warm smile, physics and Multilingual Learners (ML) teacher Sean Jones gets students excited about the lesson ahead with his infectious energy. Whether he begins class by patiently explaining the core concepts of the unit or teaching through hands-on projects, Jones adapts his class agenda to suit each type of student and maximize their learning potential. Despite only being in his second year at McLean, Jones’ achievements as a dedicated teacher were recognized when he received the FCPS Region 2 Outstanding Teacher of the Year award.
“[Jones] does a really good job connecting with every student at every level—he’s really trying to reach all of them,” physics teacher Erin Kreeger said.
Last year, during his first year at McLean, Jones taught Physics and Active Physics. He has continued to teach physics, which he studied in college, while also expanding his class subjects to include ML.
“The reason I love [Physics and ML] is that I think they’re the two most practical of all the classes,” Jones said. “Learning physics not only teaches you how to break things into pieces, but also teaches you about how things move around you.”
Last school year, Jones struggled to adjust to a new teaching environment after moving from Ono, Japan, specifically in adapting to students’ unique learning styles. Jones thus tried out various teaching methods, enabling him to understand which groups of students are better suited for more hands-on or more information-based lessons.
“One thing that I’m doing differently this year [for Active Physics] is putting a lot more emphasis on conceptual understandings before we even go into the math of it, which is what I discovered [allows students] to engage a lot more,” Jones said. “For my other physics classes, I’ve been focusing on being engaging with more labs and focus on thinking, as opposed to just basic content knowledge.”
These changes have not gone unnoticed—his colleagues and students have recognized Jones’ classes encourage learning in a meaningful way.
“[Jones] is probably one of the best teachers I’ve had in my entire time as a student,” junior Braedan Leech said. “He does a ton of demonstrations, he is very engaging with students and he answers all questions.”
Another factor that contributes to student engagement in Jones’ classes is his strong and visible passion for physics that he shares with students.
“[Jones] thinks physics is beautiful and really cool and the things that we can do with it are really exciting,” Kreeger said. “The fact that he’s always super excited to do physics helps convince his students [of this]. He [speaks to] them about physics in a super exciting way, so they literally cannot ignore his [love for physics].”
Jones won Outstanding Teacher of the Year, an award presented to exceptional teachers at each pyramid level. The process of winning this distinction begins locally, with teacher recommendations and student input.
“The top [personnel] at McLean looks at all of [the applications] and goes, ‘Okay, who’s the strongest case?’ and they pick one teacher,” Jones said.
Next, nominees in the same region compete with each other. Region 2 schools include McLean, Falls Church and Justice.
“Then, [winners] get sent to fight all of the regions, “ Jones said. “For the next step, I’m going to Fairfax County Headquarters for a big interview.”
FCPS regions then proceed to select teachers that will be evaluated at a national level.
“[McLean] is trying to get Jones to nationals,” Kreeger said. “We’ll see how [the process goes], but we have high hopes. We’re pushing for him.”
Regardless of the outcome, both students and staff are proud of the growth Jones has achieved as a teacher. McLean is excited to see how Jones will continue to boost his teaching skills to match students’ learning capabilities.
“Having really supportive teammates in the science department has helped me out along the way,” Jones said. “Not only have they helped me adapt to McLean, but they have also helped elevate my teaching. I honestly believe I’m just a very lucky representative of the best department here.”
