2009 Outstanding University Graduate Student Teaching Award Winner- Masters I

Chepina Witkowski Rumsey, M.A.

M.A. in Mathematics from Illinois State University (2008)
Ph.D. Student in Mathematics at Illinois State University

Teaching philosophy

A core idea of my teaching philosophy at the college level is connections: between my interests and those of my students, between my course and the students’ career goals, and connections among areas of mathematics.

Three most valuable approaches that I bring to my teaching practice

Respect, Support, and High Expectations

Most rewarding aspect of teaching

Having the opportunity to get to know students and to see their appreciation for the mathematics world beyond arithmetic grow.

On teaching challenges

It is difficult in many ways being a mathematics teacher in a society that accepts poor mathematics performance, attitudes, and understanding. As a fourth grade teacher, I did not encounter the same indifference that I found at the college level. I found this aspect of college teaching to be the most challenging and rewarding of my experience. The most important way I approached college courses was to make everything we did relevant and meaningful.

Hope for the outcome of my teaching

I hope that students are confident in their ability to tackle different mathematics problems and that pre-service teachers are confident in their abilities to teach mathematics to elementary school students. I want my students to have a positive outlook and attitude about mathematics and to get excited about different parts of mathematics.

photo of Chepina Witkowski Rumsey, M.A. — “My goal is eventually to create a local math education community where I would connect pre-service teachers, classroom teachers and elementary students in order to best help student achievement and appreciation of mathematics. I can connect college students with classroom teachers to create a supportive network that emphasizes students’ conceptual learning of mathematics.”