Rationale for Wisconsin Teacher Development and Licensure Standard One

This is my third semester working in the Math Resource Center on campus, and my fourth semester as a Peer Tutor. To work, as a student, for instructional services, I needed to be recommended by one of my teachers. I was initially recommended for MT 123 (College Algebra) and MT 124 (Trigonometry). The more classes I had successful performances in, the more classes that I have been asked to tutor for. My work in the Math Resource Center is something I am very proud of. I think of it as practice for what I really want to do with my life, make math usable and accessible. The women that visit the MRC are typically women who need an alternate explanation for what is happening in a variety of different math classes. In providing alternate explanations, I am gaining experience that will serve the students of my future classroom. I have selected this demonstrate Wisconsin Standard for Teacher Development and Licensure one. The first standard encompasses the need for a teacher should understand the content they are teaching well enough that they may teach and explain content in a variety of ways so that students will be engaged and see its value in the world. Working in the Math Resource Center I need to be able to explain math formulas and applications so fellow students see how they already use the math from the text book. Once that connection is made, most of the women who utilize the center process the math questions and make sense of what they are being asked. I am thankful to have this practice, as I feel I will become a more successful teacher because I can help my students make the real world connections with the mathematics content. The Alverno Education Department Outcome of the Major of Coordination is also demonstrated through my work in the Math Resource Center. Coordination comes into play when a teacher connects the classroom environment to the students other environments and makes the connection relevant. With some of the more complex math work, you hear students ask for the reason that this content needs to be learned. A successful teacher will make the connection between the math class and the real world explicit through applications. Once students see the connection to the real world, they can see the relevance of learning the mathematics. This is one of the key performances of coordination. I know that I will be able to do this in the future because I am getting practice with this in the Math Resource Center, building my self-confidence through becoming flexible in different explanations and real world contexts.