[…]and difficult to provide, as many of us are discovering throughout this endeavor. We have been comforted by glimpses of honesty from the classrooms of colleagues and peers who struggle with similar classroom and pedagogical difficulties. Yet, we also are finding that opening up our practice through this format challenges us in ways that extend beyond the logistic difficulties of remembering our daily posts. We struggle some days to represent our work positively—after all, even for the most engaging of instructors, not all teaching and learning is gloriously successful, novel, or exciting. What if I’m not doing something “cool” today […]
[…]prepare my students for the world ahead of them, cultivating intelligent citizens who will transform society for the better.” Mandi’s Story Teaching Discipline Mathematics Why Mathematics “I love that math is a fluid and active field, begging to be explored and manipulated. It can be used to describe every component of the world around us. Math is a beautiful challenge, and by studying it we train ourselves to persevere, think critically, and tackle any problem that we face.” Professional Experience For three years, Mandi has been investigating the most effective ways to incorporate 3D printing and 3D design into the […]
[…]most of my classes was, “Why are we doing this in a science class?” and some students were uncomfortable the first time. It took most of my students about two sessions to buy in to the ideas, but there were still one to three students in each class that I am not sure ever fully accepted them. As I built a routine of practicing mindfulness and self-compassion with my students, the atmosphere of my classroom changed tremendously to become an environment where the emotional well-being of both my students and myself was valued. For example, after one month of doing […]
[…]it separates those people who perceive they “can do math” from those who believe they “can’t.” Activist Bob Moses of the Algebra Project takes it a step further calling fluency in algebra “the gatekeeper for citizenship” (Moses and Cobb, 2001, p. 14). Six years ago, my colleague and I were brainstorming a way to support students to develop this kind of fluency. We had the idea to stretch out the traditional x-y table so there was one column for each step between x and y. These would eventually be called story tables because they helped students see the story of […]
[…]working with students to develop the conceptual understanding and key mathematical skills needed for future success.” Professional Experience Before beginning his teaching career, Christopher worked as an intern in the Rhode Island Department of Education in the office of Educator Excellence. His work focused around teacher certification, including supporting the ways the state reviews and supports teacher preparation programs. He also worked as an educational research assistant on projects related to teacher coaching, classroom interruptions, and teacher strikes. Christopher held many positions as an undergraduate student. For four years, he worked as an in-class high school tutor, and for several […]
[…]Institute of Technology (MIT). During her first year there, Kate worked as a teaching assistant. “Working with students was extremely rewarding and was what I enjoyed most.” Kate left MIT to work as a substitute teacher in the Boston Public School System and as head coach for the Boston Latin School Science Olympiad team. “I discovered that high school students were a lot of fun.” Kate completed her master’s degree in education through the Boston Teacher Residency and UMass-Boston and began teaching full time at Boston Latin School in 2007. Kate has presented the results of her teacher research at […]
[…]science and math coursework. Alex believes that supporting good teachers should be a priority for our society, “as they touch hundreds of students’ lives throughout their careers and have an incalculable value to our society.” […]
[…]why we crave certain foods at certain times? Well, biology is the field that can provide answers for all those random questions. As we learn more about the world around us, even more questions arise, and the cycle of curiosity continues.” Professional Experience Before beginning his teaching career, Will worked as a substitute teacher across Marin Country, where he discovered that he definitely wanted to become a teacher. During his credentialing, Will worked as a middle school math tutor and assistant director at Mathnasium. Hobbies Will likes to compete in Super Smash Bros. tournaments. He’s been playing Smash Bros. since […]
[…]and puzzles. I enjoyed the fact that math had concrete answers but also room for creativity.” At California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Nicole wanted a major that could make the best use of her math skills. She chose industrial engineering. “My undergraduate courses were stimulating and fun, with many mathematical undertones and foundations.” Nicole completed several summer internships in order to gain work experience in her proposed field but realized that there was something missing. It was when she began tutoring and helping high school students with geometry, calculus and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) preparation, that she […]
