Introduction to Staff

This afternoon, I met Ayat Hilal, the Islah Site 1 coordinator, at SAC steps for our interview. I asked her what her role is in MAPS, what decisions she makes, and what makes her role challenging. I also asked her follow-up questions about how she engages with students, brings them to attention, and helps them learn at their varying levels of math mastery. We also discussed good ice breaker questions and came up with a fun, 10-minute ice breaker to use at a future site.

I learned that Ayat plans her sites in advance of the quarter, or at least has an idea of what she wants to do. She then adjusts her lesson plans and activities after determining what the students’ actual academic needs are, while also considering what they enjoy doing. This adjustment is crucial, because some students needed help with rudimentary math skills that would prevent them from enjoying and benefitting from STEM activities and projects.

To address the different levels of math skills, Ayat looks at their individual math scores and current grade level and gives them worksheets that will address their needs. To be mindful of students’ feelings, the grade level of the worksheets isn’t obvious, and students aren’t grouped and physically separated from each other according to their math level. 

When it comes to student engagement, Ayat recommended being a kind, mentor figure over a punitive one. When students are rowdy and disruptive, she reminds them of an interest or activity they previously shared with her and the class, which grabs their attention. As they have a friendly conversation about the student’s interest, Ayat has noticed that the student tends to complete the activity and reduce disruptions. The friendly interactions makes the mentor feel more approachable and builds a connection between the mentor and mentee, which results in better outcomes for the class.

Ayat also recommended to just keep talking as soon as the students quiet down in their seats. Pausing in the middle could allow for talking to get out of control and bring the attention to ground zero.

For the ice breaker activity, we concluded that open-ended questions could lead to lots of tangents. So a specific question that prompts the brain’s creative juices is a happy middle ground that gets students comfortable but not rowdy. For example, a question like this is a fun, 10-minute icebreaker that could be used at the Islah site: “What is the first place you’d run to in a zombie apocalypse, and why?”