What does the mentor partnership mean to me? This has been an invaluable experience for me professionally. A truly gifted mathematician, who is interested in the subject matter I teach, volunteered his time to help me develop material relevant to my students. How do you quantify that? I’m not sure I can.

I haven’t had a chance to teach my lessons because of the government’s debacle, but I will do it as soon as I can in the spring under another unit plan. (I teach atmosphere in the fall and air pollution in the spring, so the lessons will fit under the auspices of air pollution.) Getting feedback on the way I teach math in the science classroom has made me feel more comfortable with teaching statistics in general as they relate to the AP Environmental curriculum.

I think this experience with developing lessons with another, higher-level academic has changed the way I think about developing lessons. It has forced me to think more clearly about what I want to teach in a unit plan and why I want to teach it. I’m not sure that we get enough chances to do this as teachers driven by tests.

I know I am more knowledgable about statistics in general. I have been reading more data about education worldwide with a more critical eye.

Thanks, Richard.