I am a book-loving, volleyball/softball playing, math nerd who loves to teach!

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University and have been teaching at Del Val for 6 years. I love it! I am also a proud volleyball and softball coach. My teaching philosophy includes a dose of independent learning, a pinch of creative practice, a hint of helpful assessments, all layered with the standard teaching ingrediants resulting in a diverse recipe for success. 

 

You will be up and moving

You will be challenged

You will be learn that there is no such thing as a "math person"

You might have to read or write a little

You might be left to struggle and make sense of problems on your own

You will make mistakes and

You will learn from them

You will use technology

You will be a self-advocate

You will work hard and most importantly,

You will have fun!

 

The best way I have found to offer the same great learning experience for my in-person and remote school learners is to create a semi-self paced, half-flipped classroom. This means students work through daily tasks independently as they watch videos of me teaching the content where they can easily pause, rewind, or fast-forward through the lesson. They then complete practice problems that they can then check against the teacher-provided answer key. Mixed into this are online activities, creative assessments, and additional resources and practice opportunities. The MRTs each week provide an extra layer of depth to a topic, a real-life application, or a review of previous content. Students are encouraged to advocate for themselves by asking the teacher any questions they may have while pulling resources and attempting to reach a higher level of understanding as independently as possible. In my opinion, a good teacher tells her students what they need to know, but a great teacher provides them with the environment to discover information for themselves! This year is unusual for all of us, and all we can do is show up and try our best! 

 

Feel free to email me at any time if you have any questions or concerns.