Courtney Ostaff, MA

I have been teaching online since 2000, including college algebra from 2006-2013. I enjoy teaching so much that I went back to school to earn a second master’s degree in Secondary Education and a certificate in special education. Now, I am certified and licensed to teach Social Studies, General Science, Mathematics, and students with visual impairments from birth to adulthood. I have substantial experience in working with students who have learning differences or who are neurodiverse in some way.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading, writing, photography, cooking, and sewing. I live in wild, wonderful West Virginia with my husband, our two homeschooled children, and my mother. Our menagerie currently consists of a leopard gecko, two axolotls, a dog, and assorted cats.

In addition to my work with the Academy, I wrote The Teaching Online Handbook in 2020, and co-authored Homeschooling the Kids You Have with Jenn Naughton and Drew Campbell in 2022. I was also a co-host of a homeschooling podcast, Modern Classical Education at Home, and am an administrator of the Inclusive Academic Homeschoolers Group, the Monongalia Area Homeschoolers Group, and the West Virginia Secular Homeschoolers Group. In addition, I am a past officer of the West Virginia Home Educators Association, and a current end-of-year academic assessor for West Virginia homeschoolers.

As the Blackboard Specialist for the Well-Trained Mind Academy, I collaborate with department chairs and Academy administrative staff to support new and current instructors with technical support related to the academy’s online learning management system for online courses. This includes support for academic courses, learning modules, audio/video components, and other training resources for faculty to support active student learning, facilitate technology-rich teaching, and advance curricular innovation.

On teaching: My goal in teaching is to create a welcoming class atmosphere that enables all students to succeed. Classes are organized with daily and weekly assignments to help students practice the material in small, regular chunks. To help all students access the material in a way that works for them, I usually offer content in text and video in addition to live class lectures. Part of a warm class atmosphere involves interacting with other students, so I work to facilitate conversations between students both in live classes and in written discussion boards throughout the week.