Welcome

My name is Stephanie Mkrtchyan. I am a 7th grade math teacher at MS 210Q, and this is my 5th year teaching. My goal in creating this portfolio is to provide insight into who I am as an educator. I hope that by showcasing my students' achievements, highlighting areas of growth in my instructional practices, and acknowledging my professional contributions to my school community will serve as testament to both the quality and strength of my skills as an educator as well as my passion and love for teaching.

As suggested, I have used the New York City Teacher Tenure Decision Making Framework as a guide for organizing and identifying evidence to include in this portfolio (see copy of framework below).

I believe all students are capable of learning and should be provided with the opportunity to expand their minds. Regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic background, I believe every student deserves a high quality education.

I believe that students should learn mathematics through hands-on activities that make them think critically about concepts. My goal is to help students develop procedural fluency, conceptual understanding, and problem solving skills that they can use in the real world. I also believe that we should teach students more than just mathematics. Students should learn responsibility, accountability, and respect in the classroom. In addition, students must learn organizational skills. These are all crucial lessons that students must learn in order to be successful outside of school. I believe we should teach students the curriculum, as well as ethics.

I believe we should teach in different ways. I have learned that all students do not learn in the same way. Differentiating my instruction helps me accommodate the learning needs of all my students. Using hands-on activities in lessons helps students stay engaged and focused. I believe mathematics should be taught in multiple ways to show the different representations of each concept.

The purpose of education is to broaden the students’ minds and teach them lessons that they will use outside of the classroom when they enter adulthood. We teach our students the curriculum and ethics. I believe students are taught the curriculum to excel to higher levels of education. However, I do not believe this is the only reason. Every occupation requires education. Learning is a crucial necessity to working. In mathematics, every concept has a real-world application. The incorporation of these applications in lessons shows students how necessary mathematics is outside of the classroom.

For further information, please contact me at smkrtchyan@schools.nyc.gov