CalTeach Master Teacher
School of Education
October 1, 2013
“My greatest goal is to spread the excitement and benefits of conceptually-based teaching and learning to students and teachers alike.”
As a child Kris always knew that she would be a teacher, and with a love of both history and mathematics, Kris has teaching credentials in both subject matter areas. However, the need for math teachers prevailed, and Kris taught high school math for 16 years in the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), first at Saddleback High School, and then at Segerstrom High School.
In 2008 a career opportunity led to her joining the Irvine Math Project and Cal Teach Program at UCI. Her roles at UCI include writing curriculum and leading professional development through the Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP), and teaching seminars for undergraduate students in the Cal Teach program, as well placing and advising students who are student teaching in the field.
Commenting on her transition from high school teaching to working with students and teachers at UC Irvine, Kris explains,
As a high school teacher, I most enjoyed when students could “discover” the math, and learn the “why” and “how” math works and have those “aha” moments. Now that I am writing Common Core math curriculum for several local school districts, my greatest goal is to spread the excitement and benefits of conceptually-based teaching and learning to students and teachers alike. I am also in the fortunate position of being able work symbiotically with the Cal Teach undergrads and student teachers, who inspire me daily with their excitement about teaching while I am imparting theoretical and pragmatic knowledge to them. This is a great time to be an educator, to help teachers “enjoy teaching math again,” a comment made to me in a recent professional development session.
I am very thankful for the time I have been granted to spend working at UCI. I have grown exponentially as an educator by working with the talented faculty, my colleagues (and friends) Karajean Hyde and Janna Canzone at IMP, and the entire Cal Teach team, and most importantly, the great students of UCI!
Kris lives in Lake Forest with her husband and two children. She enjoys camping with her family, going to Cross Fit, as well as horseback riding and mountain biking.