My Classroom

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS IN MY TEACHING *UPDATE*

As I move into my next years of teaching, something that I hope to incorporate into my classroom is more reading.  I have noticed that students I talk to do not find themselves in the position very often to read about things that are mathematics related (other than perhaps textbooks) and I think that reading relatable texts could help them engage better with mathematics.  There is a book that I read years ago that I return to periodically: Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos.  It is a very approachable look at mathematics in the real world and how important it is to have good number sense.  My hope for future years is to work with 12th graders, and I would like to incorporate a number of reading assignments to help students improve their comfort with discussing and thinking about mathematics in the real world as they transition to adulthood.  I believe that good math education can be strengthened through effective storytelling, and if I can find a collection of texts that are engaging and interesting and help students increase their numerical literacy I would consider that a huge win.  How can I effectively integrate a reading curriculum into my mathematics teaching so that students have more exposure to math concepts in a non-classroom environment?

In addition to that, I think that it is important for advanced students to consider more in-depth ways to use tools that they have learned in prior grades.  When I was working as an Academic Coach with 12th graders, there were a number of students who had "a-ha" moments about things they were first introduced to as freshmen or sophomores.  It is disappointing that in Common Core that knowledge often appears compartmentalized without any room to return and allow students to explore again with a more discerning eye.  In 22-23, in my class with sophomores, they looked into the social determinants of health and looked through statistics to find connections between negative health outcomes.  How can a high school senior, with a greater understanding of the tools of mathematics from prior years, more adeptly and thoughtfully approach societal problems? At a senior level, a project like the one in my sophomore classroom could be much more sophisticated and have greater depth.  There are so many tools that students learn earlier in their math education that can be put to good use when they are more intellectually sophisticated, and as a 12th grade teacher push students to do that.  Public health, elections, economics, and more all have aspects that a more experienced student could explore with the tools of mathematics to a much greater benefit than they saw as an underclassman.

After finishing my year working with sophomores, I know that I want to work with seniors.  In my current school, we teach the Integrated Math track and conclude with Calculus or Statistics for seniors.  In the California Common Core standards, these are the only two listed choices and they are both attached to the goals of the Advanced Placement testing standards.  Many students benefit from math beyond Integrated Math 3 but do not necessarily need an AP Calculus or Statistics class.  I hope to be a teacher that can weave in more opportunities to use the foundational knowledge they have to explore complicated topics in more meaningful ways.  When students shift from attempting to learn and apply at the same time to just applying, they are left with more opportunity to be creative in their approach, thoughtful in their methodology, and analytical of their results.  Regardless of the grade level I teach, I know that a critical question that I will be approaching each school year with is this:  How can I effectively design units in my curriculum to culminate with a modeling project that engages students in many different mathematical practices?