In this episode of Room to Grow, our hosts share conversation with Rebecka Peterson, the 2023 National Teacher of the Year (NTOY). Rebecka is a high school math teacher at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on leave for the 2023-24 school year to fulfill her NTOY responsibilities. She views the NTOY not as an award, but rather a job, that of spokesperson and ambassador for the teaching profession.
In this conversation, we learn about her teaching journey and the lessons she learned along the way that have shaped her focus in the classroom. She shares how she focuses on connections with students – connections to each other, to school, to the content, and to their communities. She reflects on current struggles facing math education systems, and her belief that choice could drive better student engagement, more student learning, and less teacher burnout.
We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:
- Learn more about the National Teacher of the Year program HERE
- See Rebecka’s NCTM Handout with more detail about her “Connections” talk and resources she uses in her own classroom
- Learn more about Explore Mathematics by Sam Shah, mentioned by Rebecka
- Learn more about Rebecka’s End-of-unit creative summary project
- Visit Rebecka’s NTOY webpage HERE
- Connect with and learn more about Rebecka Peterson
- Instagram - @Rebeckapeterson_
- X (formerly Twitter) - @RebeckaMozdeh
- Medium blog - medium.com/@rebeckapeterson
Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others! Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com.
Be sure to connect with your hosts on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.