Racial AutobiographyBefore I could truly understand the uniquely diverse identities of my students, I looked inward to write my racial autobiography. As someone who for many years had never truly been faced with understanding this identity, I was challenged to explore this privilege and its relation to other aspects of my whole identity.
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Reflection on the Role of TechnologyTechnology has become irreversibly interwoven into all aspects of our lives, including education. With each new tool, there are both gains and losses (for an interesting take on examining new educational technologies, check out this post by Dan Meyer). In this essay, I reflect on the role of technology in education in my own life, both in help and harm.
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Reflection on TruthMathematics is the purest of the scientific fields, in which there are clear-cut lines between truth and its converse, yet generations of students have struggled to know if they have found the "right" answer or correctly applied the "right" procedure. In this essay, I reflect on the nature of truth, and its relationship with beauty and goodness in education.
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Role of MathematicsMathematics is too often the subject of "Why are we learning this?" and "I hate that class because I'm bad at it." For many students, it also serves as a gatekeeper to success in college and career. In this critical brief, I explore the value we place on mathematics and how we can support student identity within the math classroom.
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Teaching Mathematics for Social JusticeTeaching is innately political. By fully acknowledging that fact, a new realm of teaching mathematics opens up - mathematics for social justice. Middle and high school students are uniquely positioned in today's political and cultural environment to have questions and opinions about a wide range of social justice topics. By fully stepping into this political realm, we can teach our students to use mathematics to analyze and better understand these modern issues.
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Feedback & AssessmentWith so many mandated standardized assessments, it seems like almost as much time is spent preparing for and taking tests as authentically learning. As teachers in this environment, we need to be especially conscientious of when we assess and how. In this critical brief, I examine the use of formative and summative assessment for supporting student understanding, and how meaningful feedback can strengthen this process.
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