Hi, my name is Sara Zhang. I am a currently a student at Indiana University. I am majoring in mathematics education, and I plan to teach high school math. In particular, I would like to teach 11th and 12th grade students in Calculus.
I believe the skills you learn in math can help you solve problems and understand concepts in the real world. So as a math teacher, my goal is to provide my students with as much knowledge as I can. I want to help them succeed regardless of their prior skills in math. So, I will encourage them to do their best in the class. I believe the most important thing a student can do is try their hardest. And of course, students aren't alone in this task. I encourage students to ask me for help, and I will make myself available to answer their questions. In fact, I believe it benefits me and students to discuss material in the class. Students can tell me their struggles or simplying share their thoughts about each lesson. This will allow me to help students on an individual level because I can give them additional help on certain topics. In general, students can help me improve the overall quality of the class. They can provide suggestions on how I can make my instruction more clear. I am also open to suggestions they have on making the class more fun and engaging. As I teacher, I value the education of my students, but I also think it is important that I learn from my students. I think that if both students and teachers learn from one another, they can make education in school more meaningful.
Technology in the classroom
I understand that for high school teachers of any subject, it may be difficult to stray away from the traditional lecture form of teaching. Many teachers worry about finishing course curriculum in time, and teaching by lecture is the fastest way to cover all the material. I agree that it is important for students to learn all the course curriculum. However, I also believe that it is important for students satisfy course standards. Some students are visual learners while others prefer hands-on learning. So in order to make my teaching more effective, I want to combine the traditional form of lecture with different approaches to learning. In my classroom, I will provide a variety of tools to supplement learning for all students. For example, I will provide tools to help students with disabilities so that they can learn effectively in the classroom. I will also allow students to demonstrate their knowledge in different ways. For example, in projects, students can explain a math concept in any way they'd like. If the student's a visual learner, they can demonstrate their knowledge by creating something like a diagram or graph. Or if a student likes music, they can create a song with math terms used in their lyrics. I want to use technology to make my class fun and engaging.
I believe that it is important for me to get my students interested and engaged with math. When the students are interested in the class, the material becomes easier to learn. In addition, students are more likely to ask questions. At the same time, I want to teach students in an effective and efficient manner. To this, I will create resources that students can use outside of class. For example, I will make instructional videos available online for students to watch. That way, they can review any material they had difficulty. Furthermore, students can pause and replay sections of the video to suit their own pace. In addition, I'll create review games and other assessments using technology. These assessments can help students practice their skills. They'll also give students immediate feedback on how well did. To help students keep track of assignment due dates and instructions, I will also post information on my teacher website. I will regularly use my teacher website to post information on what we'll be doing in class. I will also share my instructional videos and links to other resources on this site.