Learning. I have learned a lot about myself and have always worked hard to be successful in anything I set my mind to. Growing up in a Spanish-speaking household, I set my mind on becoming a fluent English speaker and asked my mom to take me to the library so that I could practice my skills by reading books. As I grew older, my parents could not help me with much of my homework because of the language barrier so I remember sitting and teaching myself by reading the math textbooks provided by the school. Mathematics did not come as easily to me and I struggled even through math college courses.
Teaching. When I became a teacher, I realized teaching reading and writing came so naturally to me as I have always enjoyed reading and writing for pleasure. When it came to math, I was anxious that I would not be able to engage students or even teach elementary concepts correctly. I set it upon myself to study the district-provided lesson plans and strategies before implementing the lessons in class. As time passed, I became more and more passionate about teaching math as I wanted my struggling learners to feel supported.
Growing. When I moved to teach only math, I LOVED being able to innovate and try new techniques and strategies for engaging my students. Small groups and workstations were my all-time favorites because my students gained so much through those experiences. I was teaching those students that were like me - support at home was minimal due to language and lack of education and I wanted them to feel accomplished with mathematics. For this reason, I moved on to becoming a mathematics instructional campus coach in hopes of building upon the teachers' passions for teaching math.
Why. What is my "why"? The aspects of blended learning contribute to student learning and student success. My vision is to help create lifelong independent learners - students should be able to feel like they can accomplish learning no matter how much they struggle in the beginning. Success does not come naturally to many and I believe that helping teachers implement an efficient blended learning model will contribute to student engagement and learning in mathematics.
