About This Project: 

I have long defined myself by my career, even before I officially began my journey as an educator. My mother taught kindergarten and first grade for over 30 years. I have many aunts, uncles, and cousins who are teachers, and my great-grandmother taught in a one-room school house in rural Missouri. I knew at an early age that I was destined to be a teacher, and therefore, I devoted a lot of time to working with elementary students in summer programs, researching educational practices, such as the Montessori Method, and volunteering in my mother’s classroom.

I am currently in my thirteenth year of teaching, all of which have been as a fifth grade, public school teacher. Additionally, all of my years of teaching have been in Title-I schools in Missouri. I have taught at three different schools, in three different school districts across Missouri. I have a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, with an emphasis in Social Studies, from Missouri Southern State University and a Master’s in Middle Grades Science from Western Governor University. I am currently working to obtain an Educational Specialist degree in learning, teaching and curriculum with an emphasis in elementary mathematics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

I believe students learn best through hands-on experiences and authentic discourse with their peers and teacher. As a result, my classroom is a loud and active space. I love learning new things and sharing knowledge with my students. Students in my class are excited to learn because I am excited to teach them. I strive to create a classroom environment where students feel comfortable taking risks and learning from mistakes.

In early 2022, I received an email about the Elementary Math Specialist program being sponsored by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The program seemed interesting to me, as I felt like math was my most difficult subject to teach. I submitted my application, then forgot about it in the whirlwind of moving from Columbia, MO to Kansas City, MO. I received the acceptance email in the summer of 2022 and was excited to begin the program. Through this program, I have learned so many skills that I’ve directly applied to my teaching practice, and my students have benefited so much! As the program has progressed, I’ve been drawn more and more to the use of manipulatives in upper elementary grades. I’ve enjoyed researching this topic, and am currently debating whether or not I want to pursue further educational opportunities that would require more in-depth research.

Prior to my Elementary Math Specialist classes, I rarely used manipulatives in the classroom and viewed them as tools only struggling students would really benefit from using. I also avoided using manipulatives because I considered them to be time consuming and chaotic. I wanted to know if other teachers felt similarly, and, if they did, what their reasons were for avoiding their use. Additionally, I wanted to look at ways I could support teachers in my school with their manipulative use in the classroom. This is why I chose to research teacher experiences with math manipulatives in upper elementary grades, and why I believe it is important to create a database of videos focusing on using manipulatives in the classroom. 

The use of manipulatives in math, particularly at the upper elementary level, provides a way for students to physically experience math concepts. I have found that many upper elementary teachers are interested in using math manipulatives, but do not use them as often as they could.  I want to share my newfound passion for math manipulatives with my fellow upper-elementary teachers in my school. I devised survey questions that would give me information regarding current opinions of manipulatives, which manipulatives are being used, how often they’re being used, and how teachers in my building would like to gain experience with manipulatives. Overall, I want to help my colleagues improve their math teaching through the use of manipulatives by creating a resource page with videos showcasing various manipulatives and how to use them in the classroom.