Dana Hanley | German and Humanities Educator
Teaching Philosophy
When designing a course or building a lesson, I always start with a foundational question: What do I want students to retain long after the specific vocabulary or dates have faded?
True education should be meaningful, memorable, and deeply connected to the wider world. Whether I am teaching language, history, writing, or geography, my goal is to spark genuine curiosity and bridge the gap between subject matter and everyday discovery. By weaving together narrative history, geography, and cultural context with interactive tools, hands-on activities, and authentic materials, I design learning environments where students don’t just memorize information; they experience it.
In language instruction, this philosophy translates into Comprehensible Input (CI) methodology. This approach prioritizes rich, contextualized cultural exposure over rote drills, allowing learners to acquire language naturally and with confidence. In all my teaching, I use objects, places, stories, and the questions they raise to help learners make connections between the past and their own world.
Instructional Experience
- Southeast Community College (SCC) Continuing Education: Designed and instructed community-facing German language and culture courses for adults.
- True North Academy: Designed and instructed online courses in German, history, regional studies and creative writing. Course titles have included Worldbuilding with Tolkien, German with Minecraft, Expedition North Pole alongside high school German classes.
- Homeschool Cooperative Instruction: Developed and delivered multi-disciplinary courses blending hands-on history, geography, and creative mechanics (such as running a “Hot Wheels Physics Lab) with foundational language learning.
- Independent Curriculum & Digital Resources: Created structured A0–A2 learning modules, interactive digital exercises, and cultural enrichment guides for independent students.
To see these methods in action, explore my ongoing educational projects:
- Learn Deutsch with Me (Blog): A hub for learners and educators. Features A0-A2 lessons focused on language acquisition, cultural information and geographic knowledge using ArcGIS Storymaps and H5P interactive content.
- Learn Deutsch with Me (YouTube): Comprehensible Input for beginning German, influenced by kulturbezogenes Lernen (culturally integrated studies).
