Introductory

About Me

My name is Christine DeCapite (but you can call me Chrissy).  I am from Gates Mills, Ohio, and I currently live in Downtown Cleveland.  You can e-mail me at christine.decapite@gmail.com.  My Bachelor's Degree is from Miami University where I majored in Decision Sciences.  I am working toward getting my initial licensure and M.Ed. to teach AYA Mathematics.  I love to read, travel, cook, and manage my food blog, Sorelle è Cibo.


My Learning Style

I am most comfortable in very structured learning environments.  It is very important for me to have a specific schedule of assignments and gradebook.  Nothing gives me more anxiety than a disorganized teacher or professor.  My assignments are always turned in either on time or early.  I have a tendency to be very hard on myself which usually results in quality work.

When I don't understand something, I like to try to figure it out myself.  When I figure something out on my own, I am much more likely to really grasp AND remember that concept.  I will look first to the textbook then google.  If I still cannot grasp a particular concept, I will then turn to my peers and professors.


Education Past and Present

My Calculus teacher senior year has made the biggest impact on me as a student and a professional.  Before I took this class, I really struggled in Math.  After taking his class, I realized that Math was not the problem.  I was.  Teachers who can instill a strong work ethic in their students will find the most success in their careers.  Thanks to Mr. Nidy, I learned that I actually love Math because I find it very rewarding when I grasp a really tough concept.

I think one of the greatest issues in the current educational environment is student apathy.  With that said, I think student apathy is a product of teacher apathy.  So many teachers just want to get through the year, and complete everything required of them.  If more educators were willing to go above and beyond to create lesson plans that really engage students, our educational system would be greatly improved.

For this particular course, my ideal classroom would include a lot of online collaboration bolstered by in-class discussions.  We would explore and share our ideas about the most effective way to engage students in subjects that they may not even enjoy learning about.  The most important thing is that we work as a team.  While I find compeition to be healthy in many contexts, I do not think there is a very big place for it in a classroom.