Teaching Philosophy:

As a Mathematics teacher, I believe that the only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics. Teaching mathematics is a challenging, yet rewarding endeavor. Students are coming to the classroom with various learning styles, family backgrounds, attitudes, and conceptions. So the responsibility of the teacher is to make the students feel comfortable and to help them when needed. The teacher must act as a coach, disciplinarian, parent, counselor, adviser, and moreover a friend to their students in the classroom. The teacher should teach not only the subjects but the social skills also which include respect, honesty, hard-work, and dedication and these are unwritten areas that a teacher handle on a daily basis.

While learning Mathematics, reading examples and proofs from lecture notes or textbooks is valuable, but the real learning comes through one's own efforts at solving mathematical problems. This is achieved mostly through class assignments, or inclass discussions and exercises. In this process the role of the teacher is as a facilitator. So I must design the framework in which learning can take place, and then stimulate and nurture the students' development, giving help in terms of knowledge, techniques, and encouragement. We need to teach mathematics for understanding. We need to incorporate everyday life experiences into the mathematics classroom. If we can connect students experiences with mathematical concepts, then the students are more likely to understand the idea. There is a big difference between learning and learning for understanding. We need to promote learning for understanding in mathematics and push students to their potential

My goals in teaching:

My goals in teaching are not just to promote learning of the subject matter. I also try to help the students learn to think logically, learn problem-solving methods and techniques, and improve writing skills by writing clearly and concisely, explaining step-by-step processes, providing valid reasons for logical arguments. In addition, I try to help students see the course material in a holistic context by making them to synthesize the various concepts of the course by applying them together. While teaching, I try to include certain qualities like shows multiple ways to solve a problem, allows the students to work with others in the class, tries to have a good relationship with other teachers, parents, and administrators. I believe everyone in the classroom is part of a community where each member has a unique perspective that can add value to a learning interaction.

Reflections on Learning Mathematics:

Learning mathematics has historically been viewed by many as very difficult and often times unattainable by many. Hopefully, the idea that the only way to learn mathematics through a lecture is slowly changing. When Professor Ken Travers at UIUC defines most lecturing he says, ''it is transferring information from the notebook of the teacher to the notebook of the student without passing through anything between." Students are asked to learn the material by copying what the teacher has written on the board. Learning is still perceived in this way in many classrooms; we need to change this misconception. Learning mathematics can be fun, interesting, and beneficial. Almost everyone uses mathematics in same way every single day. That is why it is so important for all of us to learn some mathematics. Also, more students need to be encouraged to continue to higher levels of mathematics. They can learn mathematics easily with a little confidence and support from teachers, parents, and peers.