About+Me

=About Me = Hello! My name is Kia Lee Himstead and I am pursuing a Master in Teaching at Seattle University with an endorsement in Secondary Mathematics. I love the energy, enthusiasm, and creativity of middle school students and am thrilled to be teaching 7th and 8th grade math next year. Teaching is my passion! Being involved in the emotional, social and cognitive development of young people has been a constant throughout my life. I am returning to education after raising a family and traveling extensively. I moved to Seattle four years ago, after spending two years living in Basel, Switzerland. I love it here and am happy to call Seattle home.

= My Teaching Philosophy - Active Learning = I believe active learning positively impacts student motivation, engagement, conceptual understanding and procedural fluency. Active learning builds students' critical thinking skills, problem solving skills and mathematical reasoning as it brings concepts to life with real world applications. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Active learning requires active thinking, talking, writing, drawing, illustrating, and doing. It bridges the gap from the concrete to abstract. Active learning captures the minds and hearts of students to maximize engagement and learning.

"Student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is a product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing." - Elizabeth F. Barkley

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