Philosophy

When preparing for teaching my classes, I always try to create my teaching materials with particular learning goals for my students in mind. My goal with my classrooms is to create an active learning environment where students evaluate the concepts themselves instead of me giving them the answers or information directly to them. Learning happens in the student's mind, so my goal is to create a setting where they can succeed on their own. I am there to set the environment, guide the process, and support the students when they need help or have questions. The worksheets, activities, and even lectures that I create for my classrooms all have this idea and goal in mind. I also try to modify my interactions with my students to promote this as well. Instead of telling students answers right away, I usually discuss the idea with them first. I try to provide enough scaffolding for the student to be able to answer the rest of the question by themselves. In doing this, the student becomes more independent by answering the question on their own.

I always carefully examine the composition of my students in a given classroom. Their majors and life goals are important to me. They have their own dreams and aspirations; my goal is to help them develop into adults that can achieve those goals. To do this, I tailor the classroom and environment to the needs of the students. The instruction should be tailored to the students involved. My end goal is that when students leave my classroom at the end of the semester, they not only comprehend the material but also understand how mathematics is useful to them. Students should feel more confident in mathematics and understand how they can apply it to situations that they see in the future. It is important that students feel that they learned the material and that they can see the progress they have made throughout the semester.