Each Friday, we will introduce one of our new Cohort 3 M3T Fellows. This week, let’s meet Mike DiPasquale from Elkins High School!
Mike DiPasquale
M3T Mountain State Fellow – Cohort 3
High School Mathematics Teacher
Elkins High School
Randolph County Schools
Twitter: @mdipasqu
Number of years teaching: 16
Other roles & positions: This is my first year at Elkins High. During my time at Pocahontas County High School, I was our Head Baseball Coach and Assistant Basketball Coach. While I was at Tygarts Valley I was our Head Girls Basketball Coach and Athletic Director
Professional awards, distinctions, and points of pride: I was named the Potomac Valley Girls Basketball Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013. In 2013 I was named the Inter-Mountain Coach of the year as well. I have always enjoyed the fact that kids have wanted to be in my math course and that when students have graduated or moved on to the next phase of their life they will always contact me when they needed help with their math later in life.
Interesting personal facts:
My wife, Sue, and I have 5 boys between us. We enjoy spending time with our boys. I also officiate volleyball, basketball, and baseball. I also have a love of history as well as mathematics.
Why are you excited to be part of the M3T project?
I was part of this project as a pilot member back in the fall of 2019 so I knew a little about this project when I applied so having that little taste got me excited again when the application process came around in the spring of 2022. I love working with numbers and other teachers on how we can improve how we teach. Being part of a project where everyone has the same goal is always an amazing experience.
Why do you teach mathematics?
Simple answer: I love numbers. Other than that I love being able to help students do well in a subject that most do not like and don’t typically do well in. We all know that math is used almost daily in every job out there so why not help our future generations prepare to better take care of us in the future.
What are you focused on improving about mathematics teaching?
Simply put because math is everywhere. The focus should be on improving math teaching but from what I am seeing in this project not only are we improving math teaching but what we are doing I think, will help across all subjects as we extend what we are doing to other areas. As a former coach this is an amazing process because I always told my athletes that we need to get better everyday on the court or field so why not in the classroom as well.
Final thoughts:
This is a great team to be a part of. There is so much knowledge from everyone that I have met so far that I can only imagine what I can learn once I really get into the project and start learning from everyone.
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 stay up-to-date with all of the activity of our network by following us on Twitter, @m3t_wv, and on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/m3twv.
