Emily has seventeen years of experience in the classroom and an enthusiasm for teaching math. She is a always encouraging teachers to bring back lessons, ideas and activities to their classroom, school and district that promote learning and problem solving. Having taught two years of Algebra I at the high school level and fifteen years of math at the elementary level, she knows the progression of the math standards across the grade levels. She believes that “Math Talk” , “Math Language”, and conceptual understanding are key pieces missing in most math classrooms. Because of this, she has a passion for helping teachers embed these ideas into their lessons while spreading the word that math is everywhere in everyday life. Her emphasis is teaching audiences to make the shift from “How?” to “Why?” so students don’t just “do” math for procedural understanding, but they show a deeper conceptual understanding which develops children to become mathematical thinkers.
The goal here at Make Math Meaningful is just that, let’s make math meaningful for all who engage in it, both in and outside of the classroom. One of Emily’s main goals is to help students use their metacognition to make connections from what they already know to the math they’re engaging with. She wants teachers and students to be able to find patterns, explain their thinking, and reason abstractly.
Emily has a love for math and using a variety of strategies when teaching, which clearly comes across when you watch her present. Her goals are to encourage teachers and students to THINK FREELY AND FLEXIBLY and to make learning math meaningful for both teachers and students.