Now Tweeting for the Pennsylvania Instructional Institute for Coaches!

Follow us to keep up to date on what the PIIC team is doing at IASD!
@iasdpiic

Here are some fantastic TedTalks for math.

A short podcast for the Quadratic Formula

What do weasels, rockets and brakes have in common?

Listen to find out!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7VE04_-urvDNGVBRF80eGFGQXM/view?usp=sharing

Linear vs. non-linear relationships

Is life along the straight and narrow?

A basic linear relationship is something like if you have a job making $15.00 per hour, how much money do you make after x hours. This relationship is linear (and directly proportional), if you work more, you'll make proportionally more. There is a linear relationship between the hours you work, and the money you make.

Question 1: Think about a car accelerating quickly from a stop like this one. Do you think there is a linear relationship between the speed of the car and time? Write at least three lines to explain why or why not.


Question 2: Felix Baumgardner set the world record for the fastest free fall when he skydived from 128,000 feet. Do you think there was a linear relationship between his air speed and time as he fell? Write at least three lines why or why not? 


Question 3: What are some other non-linear relationships in the real world?

Why I teach

I try to be a dynamic, authentic teacher trying to demystify mathematics and change the perception the discipline has in popular culture. 

I'm in my 15th year as an educator, and have been fortunate to have had an incredibly varied experience in teaching math. I teach because it's fun, and I enjoy the satisfaction of preparing students with some of the basic foundations of our common understanding that will help them solve problems in their lives, and hopefully advance us all.

My ultimate joy in teaching math is when students demonstrate an understanding of using math as a tool to describe their environment, rather than an end in itself. Mathematics can be a language for efficient communication. 

Bottom line for me is that nothing motivates more than success. Students need to feel like that can be successful in order to see the use. 

First Blog Entry

This is my first blog entry. More to follow.....