What is your “WHY” for teaching? As a child, I had two dreams. First to teach, and second to teach mathematics. There is no greater feeling than that “ah-ha” moment when working through a problem and suddenly, the answer becomes clear. But getting to that moment can take time and effort. I want to be that person that encourages my students to persevere through challenging problems and to understand that they are capable of doing difficult things. There are only a few careers in life where you can actually make a difference and have the opportunity to inspire others to dream and grow academically as a student and as a global citizen. Teaching is one of those careers and it is my honor to be a part of it.
Area of Expertise: I am a secondary mathematics teacher and have students ranging from freshmen to seniors. The math courses that I teach vary from Algebra I to Precalculus/Trigonometry, to AP Statistics and ACP Finite. I obtained my PBL certification from Magnify Learning in 2022, and am in the process of obtaining my STEM certification through UIndy and STEM Teach and my Gifted and Talented certification through Ball State University.
What is your PBL experience? Magnify Learning hosted three summers of training at our school, starting in 2017. During the first two sessions, I was given the opportunity, support, and feedback to create PBL units for my classroom. STEM Teach also hosted week-long summer workshops for a few years, which gave me an additional opportunity to develop PBL units for my classroom. In 2022, as a part of UIndy’s STEM certification program, I took a class entitled Design/Implement STEM PBL Unit and designed another unit to use in my classroom. I implement at least one PBL project in each of my classrooms each semester.
What is your favorite aspect of PBL? Every time I implement one of these PBL units, I feel that student engagement is higher, student understanding of the concepts is stronger, and concepts are more relevant and less abstract for students. I also love how PBL units can help support and promote empathy with my students. My students have created toys for children in our community that may not receive gifts for Christmas, they have designed handicapped access ramps for wheel-chair bound individuals, and developed flip-books to help children who are struggling with fine motor skills development.
Why do you enjoy facilitating? I love being given the opportunity to work with other teachers and explore new ideas. Facilitating has also given me the opportunity to connect with other outstanding facilitators, which continues to build on my understanding of PBL.