I was one of the lucky ones. Reading came easily to me, and I loved to do it. Learning naturally followed – I spent my later elementary years reading to learn rather than learning to read. I didn’t know it until I began working on my Master’s of Education in ESOL, but my own ease…
Once upon a time, there was a young enchantress who loved tending to her magical pumpkin garden. As fall approached, she hatched a brilliant idea – she wanted to adorn her precious pumpkins with hats! But these weren’t just any hats; they were special hats embellished with numbers. You see, both Mathilda’s pumpkins and her…
Why do I post positive affirmations in my secondary classroom? Promoting a Positive Learning Environment Posting positive affirmations in the classroom creates an atmosphere of encouragement, support, and optimism. Students are more likely to feel motivated, confident, and valued when surrounded by uplifting messages. This positive environment can foster a growth mindset, where students are…
I had the absolute privilege of attending a week long workshop this past summer funded by the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. The workshop was entitled: Math Unit Fixer Upper! and was led by Dr. Sherri Martinie and Dr. Michael Lawson. The workshop was focused on how teachers can make units of study more engaging…
Since beginning my math education journey, something I’ve prioritized is giving my students opportunities to work through sense making and problem solving mathematical puzzles. One that I developed for my Algebra 2 class surprisingly had application across all ages of students that I teach, including my 6th graders whom I introduced to the puzzle on…
It’s no secret that you’re much more likely to remember something that you figured out on your own. Math discoveries are much the same, though they are less common. One of my favorite parts of teaching is taking the time to carefully craft learning opportunities that guide students toward finding patterns and discovering math rules…
As we prepare the enter the 7th week of the fall semester, I can’t help but reflect on how quickly time passes. In fact, the summer seems both as though it was just yesterday and yet a lifetime away. I’ve met new students and families, attended countless fall sports games, spent precious evening hours planning…
I used to laugh at, and repeat all the jokes about math and numbers. You know – “there’s an infinite amount of real numbers – why make up imaginary?!” Or the “I liked math until they started adding letters!” and so on. I thought that, after I scraped by Calculus 2 in college with a…
When I learned I would be teaching math for the first time, I wanted to do something different. Teaching math seemed to me to be all of the least fun parts of teaching: lecture, worksheets, and the worst of all….. grading. If your kids can add, subtract, multiply, and divide, they can do this activity.…
Welcome to Part 2 of my series of blog posts in which I discuss a few tips which I feel have been essential to building confidence in your teaching sprinkled with tidbits from my own experience. If you missed Part 1, check that out below. Promoting Inquiry-Based Learning: Strategies for Engaging STEM Students Incorporating hands-on…
The Small Town STEM Teacher 