I want my students to remember that their strengths and their community’s strengths will be the key to unlocking their dreams. I want them to remember: ‘you are a math person’, and that means you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
Karen’s Story
Teaching Discipline
Mathematics
Why Mathematics
Mathematics is beautiful, creative, and playful, though many people don’t often get to experience it that way. For me, math shapes my perspective on the world, revealing the infinite wonder in everything—from the tiniest dewdrop to the coastline of Antarctica to the music of the planets. I hope to share a sense of that awe, discovery, and adventure with my students. Math is not only an incredible tool for understanding any phenomenon but also simply a joy to explore.
Professional Experience
Karen has over ten years of experience tutoring students of all ages, teaching various summer classes, and a Poetry Jam through Art of Problem Solving. As a Language Arts Curriculum developer, Karen has also worked with Art of Problem Solving. This allowed her to use her abilities in a different academic discipline that she loves just as much, English! She wrote a mystery to help students develop their evidence-hunting and argument-creating skills. Karen has spent one year as a student teacher at Bayside Academy in San Mateo.
Karen will start her first year teaching Mathematics at Viewpoint School in Los Angeles, California, in the 2024-2025 school year.
Hobbies
Outside the classroom, you can find Karen curling up with a good book, hanging out with friends, getting boba, jamming to music, playing ultimate frisbee, or playing the violin.
Academic Background
- Stanford University (Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems)
- Stanford University (M.A. Education)
Resources
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Blog Problematizing Frameworks for Emerging MultilingualsTeaching immigrant students involves adapting to unpredictable arrivals and varied backgrounds. Frameworks help, but personal insights from students often guide the best support.
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Blog Where are Teachers in the Conversation About Education?Teachers’ voices are crucial but often overlooked in education policy discussions. By sharing their experiences and insights, teachers can influence and improve educational practices.
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Blog The Counter-Intuitive Benefits of Teacher Leadership: Staying Sane and SustainedBeginning teachers may resist leadership roles, but engaging in them boosts their confidence, job satisfaction, and reduces stress, benefiting both them and their students.
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Blog Bringing Teacher Voice to the TableTeachers are struggling with a rigid, mandated math curriculum that limits their autonomy and contributes to high teacher turnover. They need more say in decisions affecting their classrooms.
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Blog Enriching Student Learning Through Cross-Disciplinary CollaborationA teacher reflects on a successful Socratic seminar, highlighting how cross-disciplinary collaboration and shared literacy strategies enhance student learning and engagement.
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Blog Use Your Story: Teacher Learning Through StorytellingThe blog highlights how storytelling, as showcased in KSTF’s *Kaleidoscope*, helps teachers reflect on and improve their practices, fostering growth and understanding in education.
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Blog What Does it Mean for Teachers to be the Primary Agents of Educational Improvement?Since 2002, KSTF has focused on developing teacher leadership, showing that teachers are key to driving educational improvement through collaboration and self-initiative.
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Blog Assessing Individual Roles in Collaborative RelationshipsKSTF emphasizes that teacher leadership isn’t just for experienced educators; early-career teachers can lead by improving collaboration and student learning.
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Blog What is the Most Important Thing We Can Teach Out Students? Ask How We Know What We KnowA science teacher aims to inspire curiosity and self-awareness in students, emphasizing the importance of understanding how we know what we know beyond memorizing facts.
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Blog Leadership Without Followership: Teachers as Leaders in Educational ImprovementTeacher leadership is evolving from traditional top-down models to a distributed approach where teachers lead by first changing themselves to inspire broader change.
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Blog What is the Most Important Thing We Can Teach Our Students? A Plea For CompassionBeing “college and career ready” goes beyond skills; it’s about fostering compassion. Teachers should prioritize understanding and empathy to truly prepare students for life.
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Blog What is the Most Important Thing We Can Teach Our Students? No One ThingDetermining the “most important” thing to teach is challenging. Ultimately, valuing students and making them feel valued is crucial for effective learning.
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Blog What is the Most Important Thing We Can Teach Our Students? The Language of PowerA high school science teacher reflects on teaching beyond content, emphasizing that the true goal is equipping students with the “language of power” to engage critically with the world.
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Blog More than a Case Study: Optimism in the Biology ClassroomAfter a student lost his battle with cancer, a teacher reflects on using biology lessons on cancer to offer hope and understanding, honoring the student’s memory.
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Blog Making the Best of Winter to Teach Engineering DesignTo combat senioritis and engage students, a teacher created a snowshoe-building project integrating physics, engineering, and math, leading to enthusiastic participation and deeper learning.
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Blog Three Ways to Squash Curiosity (And Three Ways to Foster it)To spark student curiosity, avoid answering every question immediately, teach thematically, and pose questions with no known answers.
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Blog Collective Teacher AgencyKSTF is exploring how collective agency—groups working towards shared goals—can drive educational improvement and impact through its networked community.
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Blog Backbone Teachers: The Importance of a Networked CommunityKSTF’s Backbone Teachers are early-career educators trained as leaders. The KSTF network enhances practice, advocacy, and problem-solving in education.
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Blog The Role of Evaluation in a Learning OrganizationKSTF’s evaluation focuses on continuous learning and improvement, prioritizing ongoing questions and transparency over fixed targets and accountability.
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Blog Optimizing Student Learning with Complex InstructionKSTF explores how Complex Instruction (CI) can enhance equity in groupwork, helping all students engage more equally and effectively in learning tasks.
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Blog Modeling at the Intersection of Learning and TeachingThe blog discusses how model-based teaching reflects our natural process of creating and using mental models to understand phenomena, enhancing STEM education through authentic, iterative practices.
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