An ad on the NYC subway changed the trajectory of the professional plan I had been meticulously enacting since kindergarten.It was a series of ads, put out by the NYC Teaching Fellows, encouraging recent graduates and career changers to give teaching in New York City public schools a chance. What I thought would be a two-year stint while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life turned into a 14-year tenure at the NYC Dept. of Education. A few lessons learned during my ten years as a high school math teacher:• Being good at math does not make you a good math teacher- time, practice, patience, and experience are necessary components• Classes that focused on using skills versus memorizing facts were way more fun to teach• Ask your students what they want to learn and how they learn best• High schoolers are the weirdest, most-thoughtful, and inspirational people to learn withMy interest in using technology to support learners lead me to a role at the NYCDOE central offices. There, my team developed a robust professional learning platform to help teachers improve and advance their practice. Our work impacted over 100,000 NYC educators. Supporting educators and adult learners taught me:• Learning needs to be practical and applicable• Technological tools do not replace well-designed learning experiences• There is always someone in the room whom you can learn fromAs the Head of Learning Experiences at StoryIQ, I take these lessons (and more) to heart as I design courses supporting professionals in upskilling their communication with data and analysis skills. I believe that we all have something to teach, and learning with a community can profoundly impact organizations, big and small. No matter who or what I’m teaching, my goal is to spark curiosity and make new skills and concepts accessible to all learners.
Listed skills include Curriculum Development, Curriculum Design, Educational Technology, Community Outreach, and 10 others.
