2014-15 Teacher Professional Development Grants (6-8) Recipient

Mathematically Empowering My Student Begins With Me   

I believe that the most important way that I can impact learning in my classroom is to continually be learning myself. I want to know as much as I can about the best methods for helping facilitate learning for my students. Throughout my teaching career, I have been lucky to be impacted by state programs and grants like the Math Helping Corps, which helped me to start investigating my own learning as a method of improving my practice. I began to see that math was just something I was good at, but something that was intriguing and interesting as well. I am currently involved with the Math Education Collaborative Grant and part of a Regional Math Support Team that is taking a deeper look into our instruction and how we can improve what we are doing in the classroom with our students. I am seeking way to fund a class that has been "life altering" for many who have experienced it in the MEC family. I desperately want to attend the Patterns 1: Foundations for Algebraic Reasoning class and deepen my understanding of what I am teaching and preparing kids to be ready to do. It is designed to give me an opportunity to live and learn mathematics within a supportive learning environment that models optimal classroom practice.