Experience

Teacher Experience

Summer Retreat

Participating teachers were invited to attend a 3-day summer retreat led by project staff at Teachers College. Throughout the retreat, participants received a comprehensive overview of the project’s goals and objectives. The event fostered a sense of community, enhanced their familiarity with the technology equipment, provided opportunities to connect activities with the curriculum, and emphasized culturally responsive teaching practices.

Professional Development Workshop

In the PD workshops, teachers explore issues of elementary mathematics content, revisit principles of culturally relevant pedagogy, and further develop their own coding skills. As teachers plan for implementing developed activities, they reflect on their own understandings and possible misconceptions of elementary mathematics content.

In-class Mentoring

During in-class mentoring, teachers are supported by project team staff in implementing the curriculum and troubleshooting classroom issues (related to classroom management and technological glitches).

Student Experience

Class Implementation

Teachers observed high levels of engagement and excitement among students when using the Finch robot during the culturally relevant maths activities.

Guest Lectures

We invited guest speakers for engaging classroom visits at P.S. 59 and P.S. 84. They interacted with first through third grade students, sparking conversations about math, curiosity, and learning.

Joining this initiative are distinguished guest speakers including:

  • Dr. Robert Gyles, Professor of Mathematics Education at Hunter College

  • Dr. Roni Ellington, Professor of Mathematics Education, Morgan State University

  • Pedro Soto Jr., Certified Business Advisor, Pace University SBDC

  • Dr. Christopher Emdin, Professor of Science Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

  • Adrian Ty Fletcher, Data Scientist, a Business Analytics graduate from the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania

We continue to recruit STEM professionals of color to inspire and empower young learners through meaningful classroom experiences.