Being a math facilitator, with Amy Siegmundt and Jeffrey Mashbitz
Meet Our Guest(s):
Amy Siegmundt
Amy Siegmundt is a third grade teacher in Lockland, Ohio, in the greater Cincinnati area. She is passionate about making learning meaningful and engaging for all students, through hands-on experiences, fostering strong relationships, and creating a classroom in which every child can grow in confidence. Amy enjoys collaborating with fellow educators, sharing ideas, and continually learning new ways to support student success. She is excited to join the Beyond My Years podcast to discuss real classroom experiences and strategies for teaching elementary math.
Jeffrey Mashbitz
Jeffrey Mashbitz is a middle school math teacher from the suburbs of Philadelphia. He has been using the Amplify Desmos Math curriculum since it was first conceived. Prior to adopting the curriculum, he built a fully asynchronous cyber algebra course utilizing the Amplify Classroom platform. At home, he is surrounded by an amazing family he loves to spend time with, especially at the beach.
Meet our host, Ana Torres.
Ana has been an educator for 30 years, working in both the K–8 and higher education sectors. She served as an administrator and instructor at various public and private colleges and universities and as a bilingual and dual language teacher, dual language math and reading interventionist, dual language instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal in K–8 schools. Ana is currently the Senior Biliteracy and Multilingual Product Specialist at Amplify, and delivers literacy and biliteracy presentations across the nation. Ana’s passion and advocacy for biliteracy and support for all students from all walks of life has led her to educate leaders, teachers, and parents about the positive impact of bilingualism and biliteracy in our world.
Meet our Classroom Insider, Eric Cross.
Eric Cross is a middle school science teacher who hopes to someday be a lifelong educator, like the guests on Beyond My Years! In each episode, Eric connects with host Ana Torres to discuss her guests’ best insights, gleaned from their long and rewarding careers in the classroom. Then, Eric talks about bringing some of their wisdom into his current classroom and busy life.
Quotes
“You have to embrace the noise, because the noise and the conversation is the learning.”
“The conceptual part is more of the focus now. Being a facilitator, you're paying more attention to why the math works and not just how to do the math.”
“A noisy classroom was actually a joyful classroom. I realized that later.”
“We can't expect students to know how to collaborate if we haven't taught them.”