1. Our favorite “aha!” moment with a student.
A: "I was teaching a student how to graph an equation from y= mx + b. They knew how to plot points, but did not understand slope. They were tired of drawing those slope triangles, ugh! I showed them that they can plug in z values to draw the line. They were so excited and came to a deeper understanding of what slope is, and what their values mean. It was an awesome moment. The student even told me that he showed a few students in his class that trick too. A win here at Mathnasium and in the classroom is a really great feeling" - Gabe Cannavo, Instructor
2. A time when a student earned a reward.
A: "I have one situation that come to mind immediately, when reflecting on students who earned a reward! A student, Rachael, was saving up her reward cards for a while. Anytime she would finish another card at the end of her session, I would ask, would you like to look at the rewards cabinet? For a while, she would just smile and say no. Finally, at the end of one of her sessions, she said, "YES! I am only 3 punches away!"" I asked if she was finally going to use her reward cards. She said yes, she was 3 punches way from having enough reward cards for the huge Nerf gun, that was 17 cards! She said she was saving up for it, when her dad got back from his work trip, she was going to battle him! She worked tremendously hard to save and it sure did pay off. She had a smile ear to ear and felt so proud of all of her work. We were so proud of Rachael! She continues to shine and save her reward cards!"" - Julie Bernoski, Center Director
3. Positive parent experience.
A: "At our monthly staff training, there is time dedicated to reviewing our Listen360 reviews. Each review, we reflect on how we can be better, things we feel we do well, and sparks a great opportunity to build each other up. Some of our favorite parent comments include how their students enjoy learning at Mathnasium, how we provide an inclusive and supportive learning environment, and that their student loves coming to Mathnasium. Our favorite compliment to hear as a team is when parents tell us that their student's confidence in math is growing each session. Our goal is to grow not only math skills for each student, but also grow confidence in themselves and their work."" -Staff at Mathnasium of California, MD
4. Favorite ways to teach concepts.
A: "One of my favorite things to teach is borrowing when doing algorithmic subtraction. I like to use the example of needing to borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbor. I find it especially fun when students are learning to "borrow" from their neighbor, when their neighbor is zero. I say okay, we need to borrow from our neighbor, but look! He is just as broke as we are! Oh no! What in the world will we do?? The students usually laugh and make a fuss of being broke. The conversation then transitions to, well, I guess we have to borrow from HIS neighbor, phew! I always enjoy the little laugh and giggle when you bring the math problems to life. Even problems that are plain multi-digit subtraction, you can create a story and give it some drama. I love the engagement that's returned to me from the student. Laughter is an awesome teaching aide :)" -Layla Phipps, Instructor
5. A time when a student scored well on a test.
A: Tests can be extremely overwhelming for students. At our center, anytime a student comes in with an A on their test, we put it up on the center's brag board and they get extra punches! One of our students, Téa, has been crushing it! She has been working on her Mathnasium work and homework during her sessions, to feel prepared for her classwork and unit tests! Numerous students work hard with weekly homework assignments, study guides, and their Mathnasium Learning Plan pages at each session. The balance between filling in foundational gaps allows us to help provide the tools and confidence in themselves to do well on each test!
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