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Kay Toliver is an award-winning teacher specialising in mathematics education.

Background

Kay Toliver was born and raised in East Harlem and the South Bronx. A product of the New York City public school system, she graduated from Harriet Beecher Stowe Junior High, Walton High School and Hunter College (AB 1967, MA 1971) with graduate work at the City College of New York in mathematics.

For more than 30 years, Kay Toliver taught mathematics and communication arts at P.S. 72/ East Harlem Tech in Community School District 4. Prior to instructing seventh and eight grade students, she taught grades one through six for 15 years.

"Becoming a teacher was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. My parents always stressed that education was the key to a better life. By becoming a teacher, I hoped to inspire African-American and Hispanic youths to realize their own dreams. I wanted to give something back to the communities I grew up in."

At East Harlem Tech, with the support of her principal, she established the "Challenger" program. The program, for grades 4-8, presents the basics of geometry and algebra in an integrated curriculum. This is a program for "gifted" students, but following her belief that all children can learn, she accepted students from all ability levels.

Teaching methods

The Math Fair

These events are similar to science fairs but involve students in creating and displaying projects relating to mathematics. Participants had to be able to explain thoroughly the mathematical theories and concepts behind their projects, which were placed on display at the school so that students from the lower grades could examine the older students' research. Students have created mathematic games such as "Dunking for Prime Numbers," "Fishing for Palindromes," and "Black Jack Geometry."

The Math Trail

Kay Toliver developed a lesson called the "Math Trail" to give students an appreciation for the community as well as an opportunity to see mathematics at work. To create a Math Trail, the class must first do some research on the history of the community. Then, they are instructed to plot a course, starting from the school building, that leads the class through the community and back to school, with stops along the way to visit several sites and create math problems about various real-life situations.

Teaching Honors

Presidential Awardee Secondary Mathematics, State and National levels
Reliance Award for Excellence in Education, Middle School
Outstanding Teacher for Mathematics Instruction, Disney American Teacher Awards
Fellow of FAME (Foundation for the Advancement of Mathematics Education)
Featured in the Peabody Award-winning PBS special, "Good Morning Miss Toliver," and the Peabody Award-winning classroom series, "The Eddie Files".
Outstanding Educator of the Year, National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce (National Science Foundation).
Kilby Award
Essence Award

References

Kay Toliver Math Program

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-{{Cleanup|date=January 2007}}
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 {{Orphan|date=November 2006}}
 [[Image:Kaytoliver.jpg|right|thumb|Kay Toliver]]
-'''Kay Toliver''' is a [[teacher]] on the cutting edge of [[mathematics education]], one who has been carefully following the changes in emphasis promulgated in recent years by groups such as the [[National Council of Teachers of Mathematics]].''
+'''Kay Toliver''' is an award-winning [[teacher]] specialising in [[mathematics education]].
-==  History ==
+==Background==
-Kay Toliver was born and raised in [[East Harlem]] and the [[South Bronx]]. A proud product of the [[New York City]] public school system, graduating from Harriet Beecher Stowe Junior High, [[Walton High School (New York City)|Walton High School]] and [[Hunter College]] (AB 1967, MA 1971) with graduate work at the [[City College of New York]] in mathematics.
+Kay Toliver was born and raised in [[East Harlem]] and the [[South Bronx]]. A product of the [[New York City]] public school system, she graduated from Harriet Beecher Stowe Junior High, [[Walton High School (New York City)|Walton High School]] and [[Hunter College]] (AB 1967, MA 1971) with graduate work at the [[City College of New York]] in mathematics.
 For more than 30 years, Kay Toliver taught mathematics and communication arts at P.S. 72/ East Harlem Tech in Community School District 4. Prior to instructing seventh and eight grade [[students]], she taught grades one through six for 15 years.
@@ Line 12: / Line 14: @@
 ''"Becoming a teacher was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. My parents always stressed that education was the key to a better life. By becoming a teacher, I hoped to inspire African-American and Hispanic youths to realize their own dreams. I wanted to give something back to the communities I grew up in."''
+At East Harlem Tech, with the support of her principal, she established the "Challenger" program.  The program, for grades 4-8, presents the basics of [[geometry]] and [[algebra]] in an integrated curriculum. This is a program for "gifted" students, but following her belief that all children can learn, she accepted students from all ability levels.
-Kay Toliver had made her [[classroom]] a place where students can talk without fear, write, manipulate ideas, and listen. She focused upon integrating math with other [[curriculum]] areas, for she want students to begin to see that mathematics goes beyond numbers and [[computation]].
+==Teaching methods==
-''"My educational philosophy is simple: All students can learn. It is a teacher's job to expand minds and take children from the known to unknown."''
+===The Math Fair===
-At East Harlem Tech, with the support of her principal, she established the "Challenger" program. Challengers are students who can face any problem in life. The program, for grades 4-8, presents the basics of [[geometry]] and [[algebra]] in an integrated curriculum. This is a program for "gifted" students, but following her belief that all children can learn, she accepted students from all ability levels.
+These events are similar to science fairs but involve students in creating and displaying projects relating to mathematics. Participants had to be able to explain thoroughly the mathematical theories and concepts behind their projects, which were placed on display at the school so that students from the lower grades could examine the older students' research. Students have created mathematic games such as "Dunking for [[Prime Numbers]]," "Fishing for [[Palindromes]]," and "Black Jack Geometry."
-==  Teaching Methods ==
-'''The Math Fair:'''
+===The Math Trail===
-These events are similar to science fairs but involve students in creating and displaying projects relating to mathematics. Participants had to be able to explain thoroughly the mathematical theories and concepts behind their projects, which were placed on display at the school so that students from the lower grades could examine the older students' research. Students have created mathematic games such as "Dunking for [[Prime Numbers]]," "Fishing for [[Palindromes]]," and "Black Jack Geometry." The event is a week-long celebration of mathematics, through which students of all ages learn by doing and creating.
+Kay Toliver developed a lesson called the "Math Trail" to give students an appreciation for the [[community]] as well as an opportunity to see mathematics at work. To create a Math Trail, the class must first do some research on the history of the community. Then, they are instructed to plot a course, starting from the school building, that leads the class through the community and back to school, with stops along the way to visit several sites and create math problems about various real-life situations.
-'''The Math Trail:'''
-Kay Toliver developed a lesson called the "Math Trail" to give students an appreciation for the [[community]] as well as an opportunity to see mathematics at work. To create a Math Trail, the class must first do some research on the history of the community. Then, they are instructed to plot a course, starting from the school building, that leads the class through the community and back to school, with stops along the way to visit several interesting sites and create math problems about various real-life situations.
 ==  Teaching Honors ==
 * Presidential Awardee Secondary Mathematics, State and National levels
 * Reliance Award for Excellence in Education, Middle School
 * Outstanding Teacher for Mathematics Instruction, Disney American Teacher Awards
 * Fellow of FAME (Foundation for the Advancement of Mathematics Education)
+* Featured in the [[Peabody Award]]-winning PBS special, "[[Good Morning Miss Toliver]]," and the Peabody Award-winning classroom series, "[[The Eddie Files]]".
-* Featured in the [[Peabody Award]]-winning PBS special, "Good Morning Miss Toliver," and the Peabody Award-winning classroom series, "The Eddie Files,".
 * Outstanding Educator of the Year, National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce ([[National Science Foundation]]).
 * Kilby Award
 * [[Essence Award]]