Beth Anderson
•What do you want students to get from knowing you
That I care about them, that they are worthy of my care and have worth as a person, and that my Christian values are more important than mathematics. Who they are and their feelings about themselves
•What life lesson do you want students to get from math analysis.
That exploratiuon and regrouping is better than instant success. The first day in an analysis we do flinking. (float, sink) They have to create an inanimnate object that will sink below the surface but float above the bottom. Lesson: try something, if doesn’t work, readjust!!!! Rarely doesn’t something you try work the first time. Regrouping is positive. Too often kids feel that if you don’t get it the first time, you’re a failure. Edison—I found 2000 things that didn’t work before I found one that did. There is no failure.
How can we improve math education?Q: my Concern about math /science education in US
(see e-mail on this subject she will send).
Students that are tested in china in India are only college preop, we test everyone, so the gap may not be as wide as it seems.
A lot of our kids have become soft, lives are good , don’t have the drive or motivation to get there. Goals are vague: good job, good car. It makes it hard to make a student want to learn math.
We need more evidence of the relevance of math in kids lives. In general, kids don’t see that the ability to research and learn is essential to their life. We have to make sure that they see as many practical applications as possible, --you can’t guarantee me that you wont need it at some point.
Who knows what you’re going to need with the world changing as fast as it is?
Were not a technical school; we learn for learning’s sake—renaissance people love to learn.
VALUE PROPOSITION
find out talents they never knew they had
confident in their abilities
learn things they may not have the opportunity to explore in a larger environment
leadership opportunities
very successful at large university because well prepared here
How is math education here better than pubic school
Hastings Colege BA in math
UNO Masters Sc in math education
Courses in continuing education
National Math Teachers Conference 2004
Presented at other conferences
To make math more fun and appealing to students activities to make math more relevant
TexasInstruments Conference Feb 2006—using tech in classroom—the relationship of music to trigonometry graphs. Soundwaves are are sine graphs, the highs and lows correspond to tone and pitch.
Sine graphs in real life:
Sunlight
Temp variance
Tides
Math is not just about theory
Recognition:
1996Presidential Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics
Have to be nominated
App process—3 questions about philosopjy and a lesson
Choose 1 math teacher for each state, 20 FROM NEBRASKA APPLIED
School got $7500, used to purchase calculator technology (probes, microphones, and sent teachers to national math conference.
Award is used to encourage and offer opportunities for professional development of math teachers, share the knowledge
_____date
Faculty member, NMSI (Nebraska Math Science Institute (taught an UNL) She taught public school teachers across state of Nebraska
Presented new techniques to 15 school districts across the state
Nebraska State Department of Education: wrote State Standards
One of 4 hs teachers across state to write the Nebraska math frameworks (precursor to standards) concepts and methodology, created lessons, and assessment , then went on the write standards used in public schools
1996 President of Nebraska Assoc of Teachers of Mathematics
2002 one of 35 national teachers Radio Shack Teachers of the Year in math science and technology (240 applicants)
Cooper Foundation Award in Omaha (advancement in education)
They publish projects as award winning ideas: also won Cooper Award:
Melba Osborne (Kindergarten teacher)
Dan Frost (left Brownell for Pakistan, back in Omaha)
Teachers at Brownell incredibly supportive and thrilled when I received honors—not jeolous,They celebrated it; about a dozen in the 50 states who didn’t want it known among their own faculty.
TAKE OUT AD ON THIS
2002 Brownell Talbot Tradition of Excellence Award (from the David Scott foundation) similar to Buffet Award (for OPS district award (the more letters you generate the more seriously your candidacy taken)
Meant the most from the people who know me best (tears!)
Criteria: SEE DIANNE
Impetus: every day I have to continually earn it and be worthy of it.