Week six at University High!

This week has felt like it has been a huge success. I have taken over three full classes: two honors Pre-Calculus classes and one general Pre-Calculus class. I have been creating engaging lessons involving cooperative learning, making foldables out of colorful construction paper to build on notes, and I have created assessments related to what I have been teaching. I am the one who has been planning lessons, assessments, and grading the assessments for my honors Pre-Calculus classes. It feels good to know that students come to me to ask questions about the content or when they have a question about the class. I am getting used to the feeling of being more in control. It has helped me build confidence and become more motivated to strive to be a good math teacher for my students. Within the next couple of weeks, I will be taking over the other two general Pre-Calculus classes. I am nervous that I will be overwhelmed with having to plan different lessons for the courses. Yet, I know that this will help prepare me for when I become the only full time teacher to students. Right now, I know that I have the support of my mentor teachers, so this helps lessen my anxiety towards taking over five Pre-Calculus classes. Each day I am in the school, I learn something new. It is even crazy that I can watch the same lesson being taught to three different classes and learn something new in each one. My content knowledge skills have definitely been strengthened, since I have been observing and teaching. I learn new things about my students and about myself each and everyday. I love to learn and strive to do things in ways that are most beneficial in life, so I know that I have chosen a profession that reflects that outlook. Overall, the past six weeks have been very empowering and encouraging. I know that I will only grow and learn much more as the semester continues. (:


With me everything turns into mathematics.
-Rene Descartes

Week Five at UHS!

This has been an exciting, moving week for me. I have taken over both of the Honors Pre-Calculus classes. In addition, I have been mirroring my other mentor teacher as he teaches 1st and 7th. Then, I teach the 8th period class with notes I have taken from his lessons. By doing this, I am getting the opportunity to slowly begin taking over all of his courses. I am able to begin building relationships with my students, so we can create a strong, positive learning community within our classroom. Furthermore, I have begun to implement activities associated with my action research linked to cooperative learning and problem solving. I am conducting my research in both of my honors classes. Yesterday, I had each of them complete a questionnaire based on their attitudes and experiences of group work. Tomorrow, I will be implementing my first group work activity, which will consist of students in groups of three. They will be working on an activity about slope, equations of lines, and different types of lines. It will be interesting to listen to how they work together and come up with their conceptual understandings. In my opinion, cooperative can be very beneficial in a math classroom. So, I hope that my action research will help me learn what may enhance my students' learning experiences. Even though there is much work involved for completing my study, I truly believe it will be beneficial to both the students and me. It will help me understand what works and what may not, so that I can be a better teacher for my students. Altogether, over the past few weeks, I have been learning more about the classroom, my content, and myself. I am learning that not everything will go perfectly, yet it is important to remain positive and strive to create lessons that will help students learn best. So, that is what I will continue to do. (:


By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.
–Mark Victor Hansen

Fourth Week at UHS!

Thinking back on this week, I have realized that I haven't taken many steps forward. At the beginning of this week, I began teaching my 6th period Honors Pre-Calculus class. This has really helped prepare me for teaching both 4th and 6th period of my honors classes next week. The students and I have been able to build better relationships and create an open, positive learning environment. I am excited to take over full time with both classes next week and teach one general Pre-Calculus class. I have already completed all of my lesson plans for next week and reviewed them over with my mentor teacher. I am feeling confident that my lessons are well prepared, so my students can understand the material in a simplistic manner. I have included group work into my lessons to begin conducting my action research on the affect of cooperative learning in an honors Pre-Calculus class. There will be a lot of work and analyzing that will go into this research, but it will be beneficial for me to consider as a prospective math teacher.
Again, I am so grateful to be working with everyone at University High School. Both of my mentor teachers provide great support and feedback to how I am doing in the classroom. We discuss how each lesson goes and reflect on what went well and maybe what didn't go so well. This is very important to me, because I am always learning and striving to do better. You can never stop improving. When I complete my intern semester and contract hours for the Benedum Program, I am sure that I will be well-trained and prepared to enter the work force as a math educator.

Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.

- Mary Kay Ash

Third Week at UHS!

This week has been a bigger transition for me. In my honors Pre-Calculus classes, I have been going over the bellringers with them and answering their homework questions. This has really helped me become prepared for teaching the class. I will begin teaching my 6th period class full time next week. Then, the following week, I will begin teaching my honors Pre-Calculus students full time. I am very excited, but a bit nervous to begin my full time teaching experience. However, both of my mentor teachers offer great support and guidance. I am fortunate to be working with both of these novice teachers. Today, I have prepared a pre-survey about problem solving and group work to give to my students on Monday. This will start the beginning of collecting data for my action research on the affect of group work on student learning in a Pre-Calculus class. Even though a lot of work will be involved for my action research, I believe it will be beneficial to me as a prospective teacher. I will be able to gain insight on how group work may or may not help students with word problems and problems solving. Sometimes, this can be a difficult part of learning math.

"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery."
-Mark Van Doren