Teacher Professional Development: I need to attend a CAS math conference, take a Growth Mindset course from Stanford University, and I need an iPad to do the online portions. <profdevpilot>
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Stern (retired)'s classroom raised $1,291
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Children are naturally born to be scientists. They explore, discover, and solve problems with joy. But somewhere before they get to high school, so many of my students have lost that joy. They approach math with a defeatist attitude.
I am entering my 12th year teaching in a high needs urban comprehensive high school.
I am licensed as a mathematics teacher, but have often been asked to draw on my background in the tech industry to lead clubs or teach classes related to engineering and software. I am an active member of Teachers Teaching with Technology, founded by Bert Waits and Frank Demana. I am a Master Teacher Fellow with Math for America. I enjoy solving problems, and I wish my students would, too.
My Project
Last March, I was inspired by the keynote address at a conference I attended. The speaker, Dr. Jo Boaler of Stanford University, discussed the need to approach teaching math with a Growth Mindset, that is, students must understand that their brains can develop skills that they may not have been born with. As soon as I got back to school, I tried to incorporate these ideas into my class, with some success. Now for this summer, I'd like to learn more about it, by attending the USACAS conference in Cleveland, and by taking Dr. Boaler's online course in designing Growth Mindset lessons. I will need an iPad as a platform for participating in these activities.
I have already seen that, once students lose their fear of "mistakes" they become much more willing to explore. As they explore more, they are more and more likely to notice the mathematical relationships my textbook wants me to teach.
A teenager is too young to have given up on himself.
But so many of my students have been told again and again that they can't do math. Worse, many of the adults in their lives encourage this "losing" attitude. Help me to learn how to help them realize that the brain can do so many things, if we just work at it. Help me show them to be successful.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Stern (retired) and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
