1. Our favorite “aha!” moment with a student.
A: My favorite "aha!" moment was probably when a student and I were playing multiplication games, but she got stuck on "7x8" so I taught her the trick "56 = 7x8" and she remembered this fact every time afterward.
2. A time when a student earned a reward.
A: One student I frequently work with spent what felt like months saving up her rewards cards. I asked her what she was saving up for. She said she was saving up to buy a birthday gift for her younger brother, who also attends Mathnasium. The day she finally had enough, I got the opportunity to watch this gift exchange. I don't think I've ever seen these two smile so big. She felt so proud of herself, as did I, because I know how hard she worked for this.
3. Positive parent experience.
A: One of our most memorable parent experiences was with Bertha, Anthony's mom. She called to let us know how well Anthony has improved since he started seeing us here at Mathnasium. She was very thankful, so thankful that she sent Anthony in with donuts for the staff on his next visit.
4. Favorite ways to teach concepts.
A: Using manipulatives can help students see problems with a more visual approach. When using coins to teach values, I lay out a few coins, have them name the coin values, and find the value of all the coins combined.
5. A time when a student scored well on a test.
A: When working with students, there are a wide range of math skills to master. Working with students on fractions always proves to be difficult for many who encounter that skill. One particular student was working on fractions in school and was falling behind. After a couple sessions of going through the topic at her pace, she aced her test with an A+. She was so excited to master fractions and she works easily with them now.