Quality Math Education
Explore my digital portfolio dedicated to math education, featuring information about myself, resources, philosophies, and other trending topics of conversation in the setting of education.
About Me
My name is Hayden Geisert, and I am a Saginaw Valley State University graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Math Education. I have enjoyed doing math and have been passionate about sharing my understanding of it since I was in high school. I love having the opportunity to share what I know and understand about mathematics in a way that is both engaging and enriching. The classes I taught during my student teaching at Midland High School consisted of Algebra 1 (9th grade) and Pre-Calculus (a mix of 11th & 12th grade). I'm passionate about conveying math to students in a way that feels relatable to them, as well as providing them with skills and tools they can utilize outside of just a math environment. It's very important to me that I cultivate a space for students that feels safe and engaging, especially considering the barriers some students face with math. I truly value each of my students' involvement in my class to foster strong math conversation; the more talk I can cultivate in my class about mathematics, the more I know students are building a deeper understanding of the content.
Teaching Philosophy
My philosophy on teaching is to show students how to endure "the struggle". Struggling and feeling frustrated with new material is a key step for understanding and applying difficult content, so by teaching students to feel more comfortable through "the struggle", they grow the necessary confidence to face challenges head-on.
Digital Literacy Vision
I highly value and utilize the use of technology in my classroom in a way that fosters critical thinking and builds upon students' understanding of digital literacy. The use of technology allows me to provide more diverse instruction and tools, especially for students who learn in different ways or who need extra resources to succeed. My students frequently use tools like Desmos and graphing calculators to better visualize the concepts they work with, Google Slides and Synergy to stay organized with their assignments/classes, as well as Delta Math for when students want extra review outside of the classroom. My students in my I.B. Pre-Calculus class have also grown familiar with researching for data sets relevant to current trends, as well as using Google Sheets to visualize the data they analyze.
Portfolio
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A simple but effective quote I try to lead both myself and my students by:
"If you don't fail, you're not even trying... To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did."
- Denzel Washington (2011 University of Pennsylvania Commencement Speech)
In math, you are going to struggle through content, through the process of understanding, almost every time before you "master" a new concept or topic. I like to apply Washington's idea of "fail[ing]", to the struggle students need to endure in mathematics to develop strong applicable content knowledge skills. In order for a student to understand a new math skill or concept, they need to face new content that can appear rigorous.