Best of The Authority: Dear Math with Sarah Strong and Gigi Butterfield
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In this episode, Ross spoke with Sarah Strong, a teacher at San Diego’s High Tech High, and Gigi Butterfield, her former student. Sarah and Gigi co-authored the book Dear Math: Why Kids Hate Math And What Teachers Can Do About It.
In this episode, Ross spoke with Sarah Strong, a teacher at San Diego’s High Tech High, and Gigi Butterfield, her former student. Sarah and Gigi co-authored the book Dear Math: Why Kids Hate Math And What Teachers Can Do About It.
You'll hear about:
- Sarah and Gigi’s four-year student-teacher relationship and how they came to collaborate on the book
- What the “Dear Math” letters are and how Sarah was inspired to assign them
- The math stories and challenges that come up most frequently from students
- How to get over being “fraudulently fond” of math
- Designing a community where math is a liberator rather than a gatekeeper
- Making math learning collaborative while getting over the competitive instinct
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About today’s guests
Sarah Strong has taught math to grades 6 through 12 at High Tech High in San Diego, and she also works for the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, teaching Math Methods and Advanced Math Pedagogy courses and supporting the new math teachers in the organization. She has led workshops on Project Based Learning in mathematics, student-centered assessment, and alternative grading systems.
Gigi Butterfield is currently a screenwriting major at Loyola Marymount University and a former student of the Gary and Jeri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High in San Diego, California. Gigi has attended project based learning schools since the age of five and, even in college, is passionate about how PBL plays an integral role in revitalizing heavily antiquated math pedagogies. Gigi was captain of the basketball team, head of student ambassadors, leader of Model United Nations, a member of student senate, and a Jeopardy fanatic hoping to go into comedy writing.
About the host
Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies LLC, a consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Twitter @RossBRomano
Creators and Guests
Host
Ross Romano
Co-founder of Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies. Strategist, consultant, and performance coach.
Guest
Sarah Strong
Math teacher, teacher of math teachers, author of #DearMath, listener, learner, connector and storyteller. #iteachmath #pbl #hthmath
