Math seminar gives teaching, technology advice
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For the past two years, math teacher Jane Gillespie has expanded her horizons beyond quadrilaterals and equations to working with TI-Nspire calculator technology. These new devices are capable of complex problem-solving. Gillespie has been chosen by Texas Instruments as a tester for new products.
Gillespie will travel to Atlanta, GA, to learn more about Texas Instruments teaching methods, at an event called Teachers Teaching with Technology International Conference, March 3-6.
After Gillespie's first year of teaching at Washington Union High School, she was offered a spot in "piloting" the program for their school, which carried over to FC.
"This is my third year participating in the program," Gillespie said. "I thoroughly enjoy the program and I am glad I am actively involved."
The seminar will be held over three days. Throughout the time, Gillespie will be involved in many classes to learn more about calculator technology, as well as talking to others about her classroom tactics.
"The first day, professional development from TI will be talking to everyone and explaining new and better methods," Gillespie said. "The second and third day will be filled with teaching others what we do in the classroom and how it affects the kids in a positive or negative way. There will be 50-100 people there."
Gillespie says the opportunity to teach her own session is a good, if a nerve-wracking, one.
"I am really excited to represent Fresno Christian," Gillespie said, "and learn more about different opportunities. I am a little nervous for my first session on my own, but I know it will be a great experience."
The growth and development of the TI method has allowed participating students to utilize their best learning style.
"I am really excited to represent Fresno Christian and learn more about different opportunities. I am a little nervous for my first session on my own, but I know it will be a great experience."--math teacher Jane Gillespie
"I'm not an auditory learner so the calculator helps me be more hands-on," freshman Allie Frea said. "Just hearing a lecture from a teacher does not help me as much."
The change and development of math technology has different effects on students. Gillespie hopes for positive feedback from students.
"The change in some students can be affective," Gillespie said. "Not all students appreciate that special kind of learning but other students find help with it."
Gillespie will next travel to San Diego for the 88th annual National Conference of Teaching Mathematics, April 21-24.
For more information on the math department, read the Dec. 16, 2009 article, Calculator technology expedites learning process or the Feb. 26 article, Fenton leads math trail-blazing. Or, check out its Web site.
Posted by "Michael Fenton" on March 5, 2010 at 7:49 a.m.
We are so blessed as a math department to have Miss Gillespie on the team. From the way students bond with her (you can see it clearly in the way they greet her from across the hallway or at school events), to the way she strengthens our teaching team, to the way she represents us in the math-ed and ed-tech communities, we are proud to call Miss G. one of our own.
Thanks for everything you do, Jane!
Posted by "Tina Nakashian" on March 5, 2010 at 7:49 a.m.
I couldn't have said it better than Mr. Fenton! The math program at Fresno Christian is spectacular :)
Posted by "Kelsey Hart" on March 3, 2010 at 7:49 a.m.
MS. JG IS SO SMART AND SHE IS A REALLY GOOD GEO. TEACHER.
Posted by "Juan Ruelas" on March 3, 2010 at 7:49 a.m.
It is so cool how Miss G got chosen to pilot the Ti-Nspire and our class gets to use it. The really neat thing I like about the calculator is that you can use it in ways you could not do it in the book, like the way when we were finding out how to find the area of a triangle.
In the calculator, it let us pick it apart and move it around and we could see that if you flipped a copy of the triangle it would make a perfect parallelogram and the formula to find parallelogram was base times height which we found out earlier was the same as a rectangle.
So we found out that a triangle is half of a parallelogram and the formula was base times height divides by two, and if we did it in the book or drew it, it would have not made a lot of sense compared to the calculator.
So thanks to Miss G for getting chosen to pilot the Ti's or i would have a big F on my power school thing. And I also want to say that I really appreciate Miss G for putting up with me in the class and I want to thank her for doing a great job.
Posted by "Jane Gillespie" on April 12, 2010 at 7:49 a.m.
Thank you for the encouragement! I love working here and am so thankful for all the opportunities I have been blessed with:)