Washington is Home to a “Math Hero”

laura — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:03:43 -0600

“Kids learn by doing,” said Alexander, who has students create their own quizzes for classmates. “It forces them to think more deeply about their math vocabulary,” she said. Students also go up to the whiteboard—a powerful tool according to Alexander—to work on story problems daily. “They love to come to the board,” she said. Read the entire success story.

Washington is Home to a “Math Hero”

laura — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:36:35 -0600

Claire Alexander has taught math in the Glenwood School district for the last 34 years. And with her continued commitment to show her students the “richness and beauty in math,” it’s no surprise she is one of 32 teachers nationwide to win the 2009 Math Hero contest. Nominated by a former student, the Raytheon Company selected Alexander out of 160 nominees for her efforts to engage students in math through interactive and creative learning programs.

Located 35 miles from the Columbia River Gorge and 90 miles from Portland, Ore., Glenwood is a small K-12 district with 70 students. Alexander primarily teaches math to grades 8 and above, however this year, she’s teaching grades 4 and 5. And if you paid her innovative classroom a visit, you would find she loves her subject, is a firm believer in manipulatives (materials such as tangrams or cubes that can help students think, reason and solve problems), and is an avid user of the latest technology tools.

Acting as the schools technology director, Alexander wrote several grants over the years requesting new technology for the school. “Technology is important, we can’t ignore it in this day and age,” said Alexander, whose classroom is home to hand-held clickers and graphing calculators, in addition to an interactive whiteboard. But technology aside, Alexander also connects with her student’s by reading to them. She said the book “A Place for Zero” is a story that all students can get something from. Math teachers have to be open and willing to change, according to Alexander, and “you can’t always go with the tried and true,” she said.

As the winner of the Raytheon’s 2009 Math Hero award, Alexander won $2,500 for herself, which she said is going into the bank. She also won a $2,500 grant for Glenwood. She is currently planning an interactive math session with half of the award money, and the rest will go toward additional technology.

“All kids can succeed,” says Alexander. And after 34 years of teaching math, she continues to dedicate her life’s work to helping make that happen for her students. Congratulations to Alexander for her enthusiasm and continued dedication to a fun and challenging and math classroom.