Teaching college-level math is a lot different than teaching high school students Geometry and Algebra II, according to Park City High School’s new math teacher Erin Colberg, who says each week the challenges of teaching at the high school become easier. Colberg completed her undergraduate degree at UCLA and Master’s degree at California State University.
“I moved to Utah to work on my Ph.D. in math and, two years in, I decided I wanted to change paths and applied for high school teaching jobs,” she said. “I was looking for any available teaching job and never assumed that I would get this one.”
Colberg is teaching Geometry to 10th-graders, Algebra II and a concurrent enrollment course called Math 1010 for students who enroll in the course for college credit. She said her 10th-graders get the most excited about math.
“We get to do hands-on activities and a lot more investigations,” she said. “The kids are really enthusiastic. It’s an exciting class.”
Algebra II is mostly comprised of 11th-graders, according to Colberg, who said it’s important for these students to develop the ability to explain mathematical concepts to their peers. Colberg said she’s working on different tactics to get her students excited about math.
“There are challenges every day, but I think anyone who has any teaching experience sort of becomes accustomed to dealing with unique situations on a regular basis,” Colberg said. “As a math teacher, making math exciting is a challenge that never goes away, but the transition from college to high school teaching has been fun.”
In Algebra II, Colberg said she will sometimes teach a lecture like a college professor to introduce students to a typical college math class.
“The students are responsible for the material and taking notes,” she said. “It’s certainly not something I would do every day but its important to prepare them for what they will be seeing in college. And any preview that they can get is going to be valuable.”