Deep Dive Into Multiplication, Division and Fractions for 4th-6th Graders Part 1

Welcome! My name is Megan and I'm not embarrassed to say it--I love math! And even more than working on math myself, I love teaching math! Teaching math to both elementary and middle school aged kids is my passion. I specialize in mastery math which allows students to focus deeply on each aspect of math until full understanding is achieved. I combine concrete teaching, making math visual and “seeable” with conceptual math, ensuring students can both understand the concepts as well as the concrete applications. I also create opportunities to apply what we are learning to real world scenarios.

My other passion involves thinking, acting, travelling and teaching globally. Specifically in terms of teaching, I enjoy teaching ESL/EFL classes to students from all over the world!  These two passions--math and foreign/second language may not seem very connected, but in my view they actually are! I view math as a language and my goal as a teacher is to help students interpret and translate the language of math into their own deep understanding of concepts. Similarly, language  certainly also has a mathematical aspect (such as syntax/grammar), and I enjoy analyzing and teaching this side of language as well.

I have worked as a teacher in a wide range of settings for over 20 years--from elementary classroom teacher in Washington, DC, to visiting high school teacher near Kampala, Uganda, to individual tutor in the Bay Area, California homeschool community. I hold two Masters degrees-- one in Education and one it TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). I continue to seek out and participate in numerous academic and professional development opportunities--from workshops, webinars and conferences, to self-study of academic publications.

Most recently, I have been teaching full-year math courses to 2nd through 9th graders, utilizing a broad range of math curricula--Singapore Math, Math-U-See, Saxon Math, Teaching Textbooks,  Beast Academy, and unique combinations of these.  I have also created my own resources and lessons to personalize instruction and offer enrichment or targeted tutoring. I rely heavily on visuals, manipulatives and relating math to real world situations in order to help my neurodiverse math learners focus on meaningful problem solving. I have worked with many neurodiverse students with differences such as ADHD, auditory processing disorder, language processing disorder, and dyslexia and have enjoyed discovering the unique ways to adapt my teaching to each student according to his or her personal learning styles. I also use math games, math puzzles, and math tricks as fun incentives and ways to overcome both generalized and math-specific anxiety. 

I have a passion for creating and evaluating curricula and teaching practices through an equity and social justice lens by centering culturally and historically responsive pedagogy. I center these both in my daily lessons (for example by referencing and learning about female mathematicians or scientists of color), as well in my general approach. I strive to focus on the process-oriented experience of discovering and learning math. I believe that math is a language that already lives within every student, and it is my job (and joy!) to cultivate it and create connections with them. I am excited to share my passion with more students through Outschool!