Jenelle Hynes is a third grade teacher at Atherton Elementary School and current graduate student in the MA program in Mathematics Education for Elementary & Early Childhood Educators. She wanted to go into a graduate program for education but had a difficult time finding a program that really spoke to her. After searching for months she found out from a Facebook ad about the Master of Arts in Mathematics Education for Elementary & Early Childhood Educators program. She immediately contacted Dr. Cunningham, one of the directors of the program, and expressed her interest. Dr. Cunningham helped with the application process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI chose this graduate program because I fell in love with the undergraduate program at U of M-Flint.,\u201d Hynes said. \u201cI received my undergraduate degree in Education at U of M-Flint, so it felt so right to come back to get my graduate degree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hynes cites her relationships with the facility and the small cohort of teachers and educators from around the county as some of the most inspiring features of her graduate experience thus far. Moreover, she is able to connect with research-based mathematics teaching with support from Dr. Cunningham, Dr. Wyneken and Dr. Piert.<\/p>\n
Hynes also appreciates how the program caters to her classroom, and she has wasted no time incorporating new knowledge into her daily work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe research projects and readings are relevant to what I\u2019m doing in my classroom and help me be more intentional about what I\u2019m doing with my students,\u201d Hynes said. \u201cThe program is structured so that you can teach, be intentional in your teaching and learning, and not kill yourself doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The field of mathematics education is evolving, and this program allows educators like Hynes to be at the forefront of that change. There is a substantial difference between what she teaches now and how she learned math in elementary school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t a \u201cdrill and kill\u201d and \u201chere is what you do\u201d mentality,\u201d Hynes explained. \u201cIt is building student understanding of why the traditional algorithms are what they are and the meaning behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the pace of the program fits the busy lives of working teachers, with two weeks of meetings in the summer and one Saturday meeting per month during fall and winter. During the school year, the cohort meets online.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this program and the pace of it doesn\u2019t get too overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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