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Teaching Statement

Students come into the classroom each and every day with different life experiences and

skills. An effective mathematics teacher recognizes the uniqueness of each student and reflects

through their teaching practices. Looking into my classroom will be a place where students are

active in their own learning, collaborating with others, and making connections to their own lives

and the world around them. Education should be student-centered, and to the best of the

teacher’s ability should be able to be flexible and molded to match every student’s individual

needs. s in Coming in the form of adapting lesson plans to creating a safe space for students to be

joyous and comfortable in their own skin. The classroom should celebrate our differences and

similarities, a place of smiles and jokes from students and teachers alike. With the goal of

learning not just the content of math but interpersonal skills as well.

Education has always been a big part of my life. Learning about the world around me has

always brought me such a sense of joy. Beyond all else, seeing the look of excitement that pops

onto someone else’s face when they put the pieces together and make sense of a topic that they

had been confused about brings me one of the greatest senses of happiness. I love learning and

teaching others about how fun learning can be. Too many people believe that mistakes are

something to be frowned upon, and that to make a mistake is to be a failure. The next generation

of humans should be exposed to a positive climate of learning where mistakes and not quite

getting there yet should be celebrated! Our working world is based on collaboration and the

sharing of ideas. Education should be no different, we should be encouraging communication

with others to solve problems and embrace the excitement and uncomfortableness that comes

with learning something new. School should be aa place of happiness, comfortability, and laughs

while learning about the magnificent universe that we live in.

 For so long almost every primary education math class has been taught the same way.

Through lectures and a couple of teacher lead demonstrations where students sit at desks and

take notes. This model of teaching is what has led many people grow to dislike or even fear

math. I believe that the best kind of learning is active. I use activities that get students out of their

seats and use their hands to build models that help represent the mathematical concepts that they

are learning. Working with others to create and verbally explain what they are doing to their

classmates to not only further their own learning but the understanding of others around them.

Jokes will be made and laughs will be shared to create connections to the concept. Giving

variables emotions and feelings to help solve systems of equations and variable values. Such as

X being shy and wanting to be left alone, and getting students to figure out how to get X’s

friends (the coefficients, exponents, constants, etc) away from X (on the other side of the

equation) so X can have some needed alone time. Assessments and activities in a mathematics

classroom don’t have to be as rigid as a sit down quiet pencil/paper test. They can be through

projects such as building a box with maximized volume, creating statistic graphs of the likes and

dislikes of people in the grade level, using rovers and code to demonstrate knowledge of angles

and shapes, verbally presenting on a topic by going deeper into explanations and

examples/reasonings than done so in class, and so many other ways to creatively and enjoyable

share knowledge.

Another part of recognizing student uniqueness and individuality is to know that every

student coming into the class has been given varying levels of opportunity and doing something

about it. Whether it is using differentiation techniques for students to choose a way to complete

an assignment that works and makes the most sense for them. Such as asking students to be

creative with finding different ways to explain their work besides written math. This helps to
advance other knowledge bases as well such as critical thinking skills, trial and error, verbal,

pictorial, and kinesthetic knowledge. Creating justice can come in the form of sharing knowledge

of school and community resources they might not know about, such as technology and quiet

study room access in local libraries. Using funds to create access to tools in the classroom that

can be used for assignments like calculators, pens, pencils, paper, etc. Sometimes a block to

opportunity and learning can be emotional or responsibilities at home. Teachers have to power to

accommodate this easily as the goal of teaching and learning is to put the best work forward. By

be openly flexible about deadlines, I plan to be understanding that life happens and that

sometimes homework may not be able to make it onto a priority list. Therefore students will be

able to come up to me or send me emails to talk about due dates or extensions and I will allow it.

There will be expectations for things to be done on time, but leniency will always be there for

my students. I am a teacher who will do frequent check-ins with students to see how they are

feeling about the topic at hand, stress levels, education as a whole, etc. This will be done through

warm-ups and free casual conversations throughout the course.

As teaching mathematics relates to the content of the course, it is an expectation for the

teacher to be able to not only know the content but also know how to explain the content in a

way that is understandable to the students. High school mathematics looks a lot different than

middle school and elementary school mathematics. Teachers need to be patient and creative in

their ways to explore these more complex mathematical concepts. I am able to adapt my

explanations and thinking processes to match that of the student I am assisting. To help all

students in the class, assessing and advancing questions will be asked to inspire self-discovery.

Working with the student rather than for the student or forcing the student to follow the exact

methods in which I taught a subject. School is for the student to learn their way, and for the
teacher to be a facilitator of learning. Having a knowledge base that expands beyond just what

the curriculum and standards of a subject are, I will be ready to give explanations and reasonings

for the math that students crave when they learn. Providing context for the math creates a sense

of wonder of how to and what to apply the mathematics with.

My goal is for every student that enters my classroom to leave with a greater joy for math

than they came in. An outlook to try new things, and see if they work out. To leave feeling safe

to be themselves, and have tools and resources that they can use to better themselves and others

around them. The math class is not just a place to memorize equations, but a place to practice

critical thinking, collaboration, social justice, and learn.