San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
TEACHER OF YEAR MAKES MATH MEANINGFUL
Tiffany Lynn Jokerst teaches math and engineering at Santee’s West Hills High School in the Grossmont Union High School District. She was selected as one of the five 2022 San Diego County Teachers of the Year, and then as one of the five 2022 California Teachers of the Year.
“Tiffany Jokerst is one of the most well-rounded and passionate teachers ... I have worked with over the years,” wrote Dan Mcdowell, district director of learning and innovation, in his recommendation letter for Jokerst’s county TOY application. “She puts her students first, cares deeply about everyone around her, goes to any length to provide support, and exemplifies leadership.”
Jokerst, who has been teaching for 15 years, six at West Hills:
Q: How did you come to choose math and engineering as your fields of expertise? How did being a woman influence these choices one way or another?
A: I was lucky to have teachers in my life who provided support and stability in an unstable time in my life. I knew from an early age that I wanted to provide a place of stability and support for others that my teachers provided for me. I became a math and engineering teacher because of the curiosity and wonder these subjects provided, but also because I saw the need for more female role models.
Q: As a math teacher, you must face an uphill battle with some students who think they can’t do math. What’s the key to overcoming that challenge?
A: As a math teacher, it is particularly important to recognize that many students come to class with feelings of anxiety and insecurities in their math abilities. It’s just as important to find ways to build student confidence and to form positive math identities, as it is to teach math itself. One of my favorite parts of teaching is changing the math narrative for students and watching them evolve into confident math students.
Q: Your application form for the county Teacher of the Year describes your “Disco Polynomial Day” as one way to engage students. Do you have a favorite way or strategy to interest students in math?
A: My primary strategy for piquing interest in math is to find ways to make every lesson relevant and valuable. When students can see how math connects to real-life issues and how it can function in their lives, they are interested in exploring it more deeply. I also ensure that students are problem-solving and reasoning through tough problems with their peers each day.
Q: How did distance learning for COVID-19 affect your work? A: Distance learning was challenging for both students and teachers, but there was also so much growth in our profession. Teachers collaborated more than ever before in order to help one another in the difficult transition to online teaching. I sincerely feel that our teaching community was strengthened by the distance learning experience. I also feel that I experienced growth as a math and engineering teacher through distance learning. I was forced to establish new strategies for engaging students in math and engineering in the digital world. I am grateful that we are back in person this year, but I can honestly say I am a much better teacher than I was pre-pandemic because of the experiences I overcame in distance learning.
Q: Please tell us about a student you were able to “reach and teach,” and how you did it.
A: At West Hills High School, we have a parent visitation day each year in March. I was teaching a Foundations for Algebra class at the time with a class that had a diverse student population. I engaged the parents and students in a fun math activity and then asked for student volunteers to explain their thinking. One of my autistic students raised her hand and explained her process in a few sentences. I glanced up to see both of her parents with tears streaming down. They later conveyed that in all her years of education and in all the days that they had shadowed her, she had never volunteered to speak. At the beginning of that year, this student struggled with communicating with her peers. Through many activities and building trust in the class, she began to flourish and to volunteer often. This experience serves as a reminder about the power teachers have in building confidence in learners.
Q: You were chosen as a San Diego County Teacher of the Year, as well as one of the state’s 2022 Teachers of the Year. How does it feel to receive those honors?
A: Receiving these honors has been a truly incredible experience. Teaching has evolved so much in this last year, and teachers have been working harder than ever to reach students in innovative ways. I feel very honored to represent all the amazing teachers in San Diego and in California in this pivotal time in education.
laura.groch@sduniontribune.com