Robyn Hrivnatz and Sarah Bauguss
Recorded
July 28, 2011
42:31 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
dda001107
Description
Colleagues, Robyn Hrivnatz (33) and Sarah Bauguss (34), talk about their careers in education and why they started teaching. They are technology integration specialists in Katy, TX.Subject Log / Time Code
SB got into education because she likes working with kids and seeing their faces "light up." SB wanted to make math fun for kids. RH had a child when she was young. She wanted to become a pharmacist, but when she was raising her child, she noticed all the changes and the constant learning she was having. This inspired RH to become a teacher. RH changed her major to education and all the things she was learning in school, she practiced on her daughter.
RH imagined teaching was going to be like the way she was taught - strict and rigid. But when RH started teaching, she realized that the old model wasn't the best way to teach kids. She started infusing technology into her classroom. RH always tries to provide choice to her students depending on their learning styles. After teaching for many years, RH transitioned into a technology integration specialist for her school district.
SB's school experience was traditional: worksheets, rows of desks, etc. From the beginning of her teaching career, she was trying to teach kids in a problem-solving style. SB wants kids to be producers, not just consumers of technology.
SB and RH met at a technology in education conference. They had both just begun working for the district and they were assigned to be roommates. From then, they become close colleagues and friends. They work well together because they have a like-minded pedagogy.
SB and RH both like nerdy t-shirts. They buy shirts from shirt woot. SB's new favorite shirt is "pi-rate" and RH's is "one smart cookie."
RH's greatest challenge in life was raising a child while going to college and working. In her career, it has been challenging to have many changes in her job due to outside policy-makers.
SB has always thought about her work globally. She hopes to make a model math classroom in her school, then her district, and then much wider. Problem-based learning is the most important thing to SB.
SB trains teachers on the TI-Nspire, a new graphing calculator that lets students interact with and manipulate graphs and equations. The kids loved the interactive learning and all improved on their test scores. They understood better what was going on behind the equation.
Technology can help teachers to connect with students. Some teachers RH worked with didn't know what to do with themselves once the kids were learning more on their own. Teachers become "facilitators of learning" and students become "creators." RH is frustrated by policy-makers and politicians who haven't been educators making changes to curricula, etc.
Six years ago, RH got in trouble for sending a text message to student because teachers weren't allowed to communicate with students outside of school. Now, there can be 24/7 communication between teacher and student. RH hopes every student will have internet access at home -- especially in rural areas.
Participants
- Robyn Hrivnatz
- Sarah Bauguss