In this episode of Room to Grow, our hosts share conversation with Rebecka Peterson, the 2023 National Teacher of the Year (NTOY). Rebecka is a high school math teacher at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on leave for the 2023-24 school year to fulfill her NTOY responsibilities. She views the NTOY not as an award, but rather a job, that of spokesperson and ambassador for the teaching profession.

In this conversation, we learn about her teaching journey and the lessons she learned along the way that have shaped her focus in the classroom. She shares how she focuses on connections with students – connections to each other, to school, to the content, and to their communities. She reflects on current struggles facing math education systems, and her belief that choice could drive better student engagement, more student learning, and less teacher burnout. 

We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:

• Learn more about the National Teacher of the Year program HERE 
• See Rebecka’s NCTM Handout with more detail about her “Connections” talk and resources she uses in her own classroom
• Learn more about Explore Mathematics by Sam Shah, mentioned by Rebecka
• Learn more about Rebecka’s End-of-unit creative summary project
• Visit Rebecka’s NTOY webpage HERE 
  • Direct link to press kit (including photos) 
  • Direct link to request Rebecka
• Connect with and learn more about Rebecka Peterson  
  • Instagram - @Rebeckapeterson_
  • X (formerly Twitter) - @RebeckaMozdeh
  • Medium blog - medium.com/@rebeckapeterson 

Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others! Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing [email protected]. 

Be sure to connect with your hosts on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.