Kristin Lovell
Middle School Math teacher
Sixth and seventh grade math teacher Kristin Lovell is one of the first teachers to arrive at school every morning and one of the last to leave. She sets aside extra time to meet with students before and after school. “For some kids, it builds confidence. They just want that extra, more individualized practice.” She also coaches Middle School tennis and co-sponsors the Math Counts club. Despite the extended hours, she says she usually walks away with the feeling that she just had fun.
Motivation is the key to keeping children engaged in their work, she says, and she hones in on the love kids have of technology to involve them deeper in math. One of several teachers with a Promethean Board in her classroom, Mrs. Lovell draws on millions of exercises other teachers have created to give her students interactive activities that often seem like video games.
“When you have students totally engaged, they’re going to be more productive and pick up on the learning quicker. This makes it fun for them. They enjoy it more using the technology.” The Promethean Board also gives Mrs. Lovell feedback on how well her students are absorbing the material. Each child has a clicker they use to answer verbal quizzes and they see how many people answered correctly. “It’s almost like you’re texting your answer, like if you’re voting on American idol,” she says. After class, Mrs. Lovell analyzes the individual responses to see which students need more help and which are ready to move on to the next task.
In teaching circles, “21st Century Learning” is a buzz phrase and The Summit’s investment in Promethean Boards is a major step forward, Mrs. Lovell says. “If Albert Einstein walked through the streets of a city and he saw all this technology, he would say ‘This is what it is supposed to be.’ And if he walked into the school and saw that we were still teaching the way we were 100 years ago, he would be shocked.”
“Kids minds just work so much faster these days just from all the stimulus that they’re used to. They always say they power down when they come into the classroom. Why is that? If we have all this technology, why ask the kids to power down when they come into math?”
— Kristin Lovell
Bio Basics
Teaches sixth and seventh grade math, algebra and pre-algebra; Middle School tennis coach; co-sponsors Math Counts. Began Summit in 2005-06. B.S., Miami University. M.S., Wright State.
Fun Facts
Lives in West Chester with her husband, Brad, who is the principal at Boyd E. Smith Elementary School in Milford. Traveled to Japan and Australia with People to People. Born in Oklahoma City but moved around a lot growing up. Sister and mother were teachers. Loves to travel, hike on trails, boat, bike ride; belongs to a photo club; enjoys scrapbooking her trips. If she could invent one thing to solve a problem in the world, she would put sunscreen in shower soap. “As a tennis coach, I am lathering the kids at every match with sunscreen and they still come off bright red.”
