About Me

My philosophy of teaching mathematics and STEM is similar in that I believe it is not a passive activity. It too requires active engagement from teacher and student. I subscribe to the research put forth by Jo Boaler of Stanford University. People are not born mathematicians, it takes practice to train our brains to think using a growth mindset. Using math applications and games students are able to see patterns and connections. Students’ often express mathematics understandings differently it is important to embrace this. I believe in multiple representations of mathematical ideas (Boaler, 2010). First, students learn in different ways. Second, knowing multiple representations and methods makes it easier for students to problem solve. Arming them with different ways to solve a problem makes them less likely to give up and more likely to succeed in solving it. Using multiple assessment tools allows me to evaluate my students much more accurately such as interviews, portfolios, quizzes, writing assignments and asking learners to write and solve their own problems which leads to higher level thinking skills.

Students should actively read, write and talk about local events and activities that affect their daily lives. I believe teaching reading is one of the most important jobs of an Elementary teacher. Reading is essential to functioning academically in all subjects and necessary to becoming a global citizen. It needs to be taught in-depth taking into account all of the big five components to include phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension accompanied with continuous monitoring and assessment. Having a daily literacy routine will allow students to know what is expected of them, minimize behavior management and meet the needs of diverse learners. With each lesson I teach I am constantly evaluating students understanding.