NAME:
Ms. Metcalf - 2011 Stanislaus County Teacher of the Year
SCHOOL:
Salida Middle School
CLASS:
7th Math
SCHOOL PHONE:
209-545-1633
I have been teaching now for 12 years. I started out teaching sixth grade at
Sisk Elementary. When that school switched to K-5 I moved over to the Middle
School. I now teach 8th grade Algebra 1 and 7th grade honors math. I am also
a trained AVID instructor, and I love it!
I have an 18 year old daughter. She will be attending the University of the
Pacific in the fall. She is majoring in Buisness Information Systems with a
Minor in Engineering. She too loves math....wonder where she gets that!
We love to travel and are rarely at home. If we are not on an adventure you
can probably find us at the movies. I recently have taken up running and find
myself being persuaded by my sister to compete in 5K and 10k races. I am
currently training for another half marathon! One of my biggest
accomplishments recently is losing over 75 pounds.
My goal is for students to become problem-solvers in their current and
future world. By relating mathematics to real situations in the world, I
hope to reveal to them how interconnected their learning environment can be,
regardless of how the subjects are broken up for them in the school setting.
I see myself as a facilitator of learning more than a lecturer of facts.
This puts the focus on the development of a student's understanding of
mathematics rather than my dissemination of knowledge. I strive to foster a
conceptual understanding of mathematics. This involves going beyond the
teaching mathematics as a fixed system of procedures. Mathematics is a
boundless region of insight and discovery. It is the recognition of
patterns. It is akin to music in its complexity as well as its simplicity.
A good instructor of mathematics challenges the student to explore and
investigate a math problem and to come up with their own strategies for
arriving at a solution. This places the emphasis on the process rather than
the solution itself. I try not to say "yes" or "no" when a student asks me
if this is the right answer. I ask them to tell me how they arrived at their
solutions. Relying on the solution as "the right answer" fosters a
dependence on the teacher. The students must learn to rely on their own
reasoning as justification. Thus a student develops mathematical competency.
Key words that characterize my class are "process," "discussion,"
and "cooperation." The development of an understanding of mathematics is a
process that evolves through discussion and cooperation among the members of
the classroom. Mathematics is not a tedious, tired, and worn-out subject. It
is a living and vibrant form of communication and problem-solving which I
enjoy sharing with students.