...assistance in achieving my dreams not only economically, but professionally as well. My goal is to teach math to the young adults in our local high schools. The scholarship would play an important part in my education by providing me with experience, knowledge and opportunities to improve myself as a teacher. My dream of becoming a teacher dates back to the days when I was a child. At school, I have always been the student who explains math to her classmates. Doing this is something that I have always enjoyed. Those experiences motivated me to pursue a career in education. Similarly, when I worked as a crew leader at McDonald’s, I taught the new employees how to perform the job. This helped to increase my desire to teach professionally. Later when I started working as a math and physics tutor at the Center for Students with Disabilities at El Paso Community College, I confirmed that teaching is something that I love to do and that I did not make a mistake when selecting my career. I obtained tremendous satisfaction in the difference my teaching made to the scholastic success of the students I tutored. In addition, I am interested in teaching as a career because I believe that as a teacher I will have the opportunity to make an impact on society. As a math teacher I will have the opportunity to develop the critical thinkers of the future. I will develop individuals who can analyze and find solutions to problems. It is my belief that if they can solve math problems, they can make...
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...added to any math problem is just absolutely astounding to me. Every math problem I have ever encountered seemed great and challenging. What a thrill, right? You might be wondering why does she think math is so entertaining, is she crazy? Basically, I have had an interesting experience with math, had great knowledge of math, and had been thought to be a good candidate for being in the math field, which has led to my love of math. Of all experiences I have had with mathematics, one I am quite fond of is when I got the highest score in the class, and got everyone’s test...
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...A wise man once said, “Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you. I agree with this statement. Everything happens for a reason and you can learn from your mistakes right? Experience isn’t just showing up or doing the work. It is about going the extra mile and putting everything you’ve got into the work. Life is an open door with many choices and paths you can choose. You have all these different roads you can turn on but the choice is up to you. There are a few examples I can think of that apply to my own life. We all know about the grade 10 OSSLT (Literacy test). It’s a requirement you need to graduate high school. The first year I wrote it I failed. It was so disappointing and brought down my confidence in English class. I decided to write it again the following year. Starting November I went to these little practice literacy preparation classes hosted by Ms Snell. She helped me a lot and it gave me a chance to be better prepared for this upcoming literacy test in the spring. When I wrote in in the spring, I passed! A few of my friends thought the reason I passed was because I already had experience writing it before. I disagree with my friends. Yes I had experience with the literacy test but that’s not what passed me. What passed me was what I did when I failed the first year. I looked at failing the first year as a chance to try harder the next time. So I went to all of those practice classes and tried my very best...
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...During Year 10 I was lucky enough to be taught by a new trainee Maths teacher and was inspired by the energy and enthusiasm he brought to the classroom. His commitment to ensuring we would thrive and succeed was something I deeply admired. From that point on I have always had a keen focus on a career in Maths. It is a subject I am passionate about and I would love the opportunity to share this passion with others. I have devoted a large amount of time to acquire first-hand experience in the field of teaching and Mathematics. During a placement in a secondary school I observed key stage 3 and GCSE Maths lessons. This has given me a real insight to life in the classroom and has shown me the challenges I could face. In addition I have led presentations at both Sixth form and Year 6 open days at school. My role involved demonstrating Maths challenges and helping students to complete problems. With these opportunities I have been able to share my knowledge and passion of Mathematics with others and expand their understanding, which I found very rewarding. This has given me confidence in my own abilities; not just in Maths but my level of communication with others. Through my role as a Maths tutor I gained experience giving one to one sessions with Year 11 students. I planned sessions that would help them prepare for their GCSE Maths exam, being sat at higher level and foundation. I quickly learned how important it is to differentiate work so that all levels of abilities could be...
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...For my interview with a Penn State faculty member, I chose to meet with Dr. Pavel Azalov. My intended major is computer science, so Dr. Azalov seemed to be the best option for myself. When I was coming up with questions to ask during the interview, I wanted to focus on my future at Penn State and what I should expect when it comes time for me to take courses related to computer science. By doing this, I hoped to gain a better understanding of the process of getting a degree in computer science. My first question I asked was to see if I was personally ready to begin taking college level computer science courses. I was not sure of the level of experience with computer programming was recommended for entry level classes in the field of study. As I would come to learn, there is no experience required for basic programming classes, and this came to me as sort of a surprise. Almost every major subject, whether it is math, writing, history, or science, usually requires some sort of background knowledge of the subject. Some people may not think of it that way, though. These...
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...children. Pedagogy is the study of teaching/education with a primary focus on theory instruction. This structure base for educators was a widely accepted practice for all levels and student types. Malcolm Knowles developed a theory in his MA thesis that challenged the ideas of pedagogy with respect to adult students. His thesis focused on the learner rather than the teaching method. The main idea was that the learning process differs greatly between children and adults for a variety of reasons. This idea was further refined in future books written by Knowles in the 1970s and he coined the idea with the word “andragogy” or the “adult focused teaching approach”. [1] The characteristics that define this new approach are: a need to know, experience, readiness, applicability, and motivation. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the characteristics of adult learning as defined by Knowles and identify the differences for each of these qualities with respect to the learning process for children. The first quality that Knowles identified is that adults are “self-directed” or need to be engaged in what they are learning. Most adults that have returned to the classroom are there most likely by choice. They are engaged in the classes they register based on the assumption of completing a degree and how this can effectively change their future. Adults need to be involved in the process in order to feel that they are an active a participant in the educational process. Knowles stated that...
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...smart and knowledgeable person,” and I’m sure I’m not the only one that makes these snap judgments. But from my point of view it’s understandable that words and symbols are the universal sign of knowledge since we are taught from books and blackboards since our toddler years. Now what I consider knowledge is things that we hold to be true and are able to identify in real life. Teachers have been molding our brains to be able to communicate our knowledge using words since we were little, but as we grow older and we get into secondary school we come to realize that there is knowledge that cannot be expressed through words and symbols. The goal of the International Baccalaureate program is to make students well rounded and knowledgeable in many fields and along with that comes many requirements that other programs do not ask of their students. From my perspective knowledge that cannot be expressed in words and symbols is as important to have as knowledge that can, justifying the CAS requirements. CAS is the International Baccalaureate program’s way of teaching us what cannot be covered in books or lectures. This knowledge can be described in words but only to a certain extent. I think that CAS is a very large contributing factor to why the IB program nurtures well rounded students. CAS pushes students to seek out new activities for the purposes of gaining experiences that would have been otherwise undiscovered. I believe that the key ingredient to...
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...Science and math integration unit I chose a culminating activity to use after the students had completed learning about fractions, ratios and percentages in math and in life science learning about the ecosystems and inquiry and observations to solve problems. The activity I chose has students looking at trees within a forest near the school. My rationale for selecting this project is that students in this area do a lot of hunting this time of year and are outside in the wilderness a lot during the month of October. I thought that this lesson would make them more aware of their environment and provide them a different way to look at their surroundings before they went off to the mountains for hunting elk and deer. I believe the students will be very interested in this unit of study and also it will help them to be more observant as they are hunting this next month. I tried to write a unit of study that students in this area would enjoy doing, one that would fit with their lifestyle and have a meaningful positive outcome upon completion. This is a summary of a culminating unit for science and math. Students will measure off a section of the forest and count quaking aspen trees and lodge pole pine trees within the measured off area. Students will then use the 12 processes of science and math skills to answer questions and complete investigations to solve the science question. The students need to collect data, chart it and analyze it to answer questions using math skills including...
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...My favorite classes have always been math and science. However, when I was younger, I would always tell people that I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. It seemed like an appropriate answer to the question of what I wanted to be. After all, I just wanted to help less fortunate people and be someone that was making a difference in the world. Blah, Blah, Blah - same thing that everyone says. I really did not see how math could ever be used to help anyone but an accountant (boring). During my junior year of high school, my physics teacher introduced me to mathematical concepts that I had never thought of. Mr. Edkins made me realize that there is creativity in math. The idea that calculus could actually be used to determine optimal solutions to everyday problems fascinated me. He taught me that indeed I could be something larger than just myself. I could make a difference in world by pursuing an education in the field of engineering. I could have a career that combined my love for both math and science....
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...I. Introduction This action research proposal focused on helping students cope with their math subjects. We will also discussed the possible reasons why students suffer from math phobia, math anxiety or arithmophobia, the cause and the possible result it gives to the students. First, let us give the definitions, descriptions, and symptoms of anxiety, Math anxiety and arithmophobia. Arithmophobia is simply defined as the fear of numbers. General Anxiety: * A feeling of unease, apprehension or worry. It may be associated with physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, feeling faint and trembling. It can be a normal reaction to stress or worry or it can sometimes be part of a bigger problem. * Anxiety is a complex combination of the feeling of fear, apprehension and worry often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, chest pain and/or shortness of breath. Anxiety is often described as having cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. The cognitive component entails expectation of a diffuse and uncertain danger. Math Anxiety: * A feeling of intense frustration or helplessness about one's ability to do math. * Math anxiety is an emotional reaction to mathematics based on a past unpleasant experience which harms future learning. * An irrational fear of mathematics that can range from a simple discomfort associated with numerical operations to a total avoidance of mathematics and mathematics classes (Mathison, 1977). Mathematics...
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...Teaching Mathematics Teaching Mathematics My interest in teaching mathematics came from the experience of helping others. I have always enjoyed learning math, and I realized that I also like helping other people learn math, especially those that struggle with it or those who have a disliking for it. As a teacher, I will be able to fulfill my aspirations; both my students and I will learn together and from one another. I feel that it is important for me, as a teacher, to stay current and deepen my understanding of mathematics and mathematics education. My learning will continue from my experiences and interactions as a teacher, helping me to become a better educator. I must always be willing to learn from the things I do and use this to better my teaching style, which will, in turn, benefit my students’ learning. To begin, I want to be able to benefit my students’ learning by aiding them in understanding math and realizing that, although they may not think so, math is practical in real life. In particular, I want to work with students at the secondary grade level because as kids get older they seem to lose their enthusiasm for learning, especially in mathematics. I would like to help my students maintain an interest in all their learning, especially math. Also, it is important when teaching to satisfy the needs of all students in the classroom. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn. However, this can sometimes be a difficult task because learning happens in a variety...
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...I am applying for admission to the Ph.D program at Texas A&M University in order to prepare myself for pursuing a career of research in mathematics. My long-term objective is to become a professor at a research university, or get a position at a research institution so that I can live a life with mathematics. As an undergraduate, I studied mathematics in Beihang University from 2011 to 2014. When I studied there, I was in the Hua-Luogeng class, a group of students majoring in mathematics and supervised jointly by Chinese Academy of Science. In 2014, I was selected into the fast track program between Beihang University and Texas A&M University, and I started to take graduate courses at Texas A&M University since fall semester of 2014. I got my bachelor degree from Beihang University in 2015, and now I am studying in Texas A&M University as a graduate student to complete the fast track program and going to earn the Master’s degree at the end of spring semester of 2016. My interests in mathematics grow rapidly, as I learn more and more as a math majoring student. I enjoy the feeling of being absorbed in mathematical problems and a sense of accomplishment...
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...Nine Ways How do we help floundering students who lack basic math concepts? Marilyn Burns aul, a 4th grader, was struggling to learn multiplication. Paul’s teacher was concerned that he typically worked very slowly in math and “didn’t get much done.” I agreed to see whether I could figure out the nature of Paul’s difficulty. Here’s how our conversation began: P MARILYN: Can you tell me something you know about multiplication? PAUL: [Thinks, then responds] 6 x 8 is 48. MARILYN: Do you know how much 6 x 9 is? PAUL: I don’t know that one. I didn’t learn it yet. MARILYN: Can you figure it out some way? PAUL: [Sits silently for a moment and then shakes his head.] MARILYN: How did you learn 6 x 8? PAUL: [Brightens and grins] It’s easy—goin’ fishing, got no bait, 6 x 8 is 48. connects to addition. Paul wasn’t the only student in this class who was floundering. Through talking with teachers and drawing on my own teaching experience, I’ve realized that in every class a handful of students are at serious risk of failure in mathematics and aren’t being adequately served by the instruction offered. What should we do for such students? Grappling with Interventions My exchange with Paul reminded me of three issues that are essential to teaching mathematics: I It’s important to help students make connections among mathematical ideas so they do not see these ideas as disconnected facts. (Paul saw each multiplication fact as a separate piece of information to memorize.) I It’s important to...
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...hardest for me to answer. My enthusiasm for the sciences and mathematics didn't emerge in one crystallizing moment or epiphany, but rather evolved over time. Curiosity has always been a defining quality of mine, probably ever since I was a young boy watching "The Magic School Bus" and reading "ZooBooks". A general yearning for discovering new things, regardless of topics or delivery via books, television, or teacher, was the first step to spark my interest in science. Later as a middle school student, I became much more aware that I enjoyed and excelled in science and math more than any other subjects. Entering into my middle school's math and science accelerated program allowed me to further develop my interest in science as I took Honors Biology and spent my summer between 8th and 9th grade volunteering for Cornell’s Cooperative Extension conducting water sampling for effluent matter at local bays. It was also at this point that I started to give thought to what careers I may want to pursue, specifically in a scientific field. In my past three years of high school, I've taken great initiative to enrich my scientific experience and identify which fields directly interest me. I became a member and now president of my school's selective science research program, attended lectures at Stony Brook University and started ready Scientific News. Reading about Physics made me inquisitive about the unknown. In math I started a trail-blazing path by self-teaching Math B (does it have another...
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...Failure is inevitable. However, it can lead to success if you have the strength and determination to overcome failure and adversity. If Henry Ford had given up after his first two failures, the ford motor company may not exist today. Personally, my failure is less extreme compared to Ford’s. However, it’s a failure i’ve faced most of my school life. This past year is when my weakness in math took its biggest hit. Throughout my high school career I always made good grades in math, but it took a lot of studying and help from my teachers. However this past year, I was placed in a class with a teacher who expected me to teach myself; coming from a family of teachers I struggled to understand her definition of “teaching.” The first nine weeks was...
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