Each Friday during the school year, we will spotlight one of our M3T Fellows. This week, let’s meet Barbara Zingg from Washington High School!
Barbara Zingg
M3T Noyce Fellow – Cohort 1
Middle School Mathematics Teacher
Washington High School
Jefferson County Schools
Twitter: @bzingg56
Number of years teaching: 28
Positions and Roles:Professional Educator, Faculty Senate Treasurer, Curriculum Committee Member, Lifelong Learner, Jefferson County Professional Development Committee
Professional awards, distinctions, and points of pride: Washington High School Teacher of the Year, WVCTM Secondary Math Teacher of the Year 2017, Edulastic Innovator (6 yrs)
Interesting personal facts: Is a 5th generation math teacher, her great-great grandfather was Benjamin Franklin Finkel who founded the American Mathematical Monthly Journal, and everyone in her family growing up had names that started with B and her kids names all start with J
Why are you excited to be part of the M3T project?
“M3T is unique by using the combined energy and experience of classroom teachers to identify struggles interfering with student learning, develop strategies to decrease the obstacles, try them, evaluate their effectiveness, and refine the methods to create more effective teaching to share. This is a tremendous group!”
Why do you teach mathematics?
“Mathematics is the study of patterns and I have always been fascinated with seeing order in the world around me. Helping students see patterns, make the connections, and use what they have observed to ask and solve more complex problems is the first step to fostering a lifelong love of learning.”
What are you focused on improving about mathematics teaching?
“In the past, the focus of too much of education has been getting the ‘right answer’ without the conceptual understanding that is necessary for true learning. I want to foster a hunger in my students for the ‘why’ not just the ‘how.’ I want students to be as hungry to learn as I am.”
Final Thoughts:
“M3T is an amazing opportunity to network with other teachers throughout the state and share our successes and our failures. We all want to get better at our craft whether we are at the beginning of our journey or closer to the end. We all want to be better!
Check in each week on #M3TFellowFriday throughout the school year to meet another M3T Fellow. You can find a listing of all of the M3T Fellows and stay up-to-date with the work of the M3T network at our website, https://m3twv.org. You can also follow us on Twitter, @m3t_wv.
