Stephanie Steines

Decorah, IA | 7-12, Mathematics, 2021

What motivates you to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching?

My motivation is rooted in combating the notion that “math is hard” causing students to quit for fear of failure. I aim to foster a growth mindset so students understand their brain is like a muscle. Becoming “smarter” requires effort like building a strong body. They must realize making mistakes is OK and learning from those mistakes is pivotal. Believing this, students can tackle challenging material. Though they may still feel “math is hard”, they will be confident adding “but I can do it”.

What has been the most transformative moment that affirmed your impact on STEM education?

A recent student faced many academic and personal challenges in school. So much so he announced at his junior IEP meeting he would not pursue a college education. However, during the year, he began to connect with classmates and engage in problem solving activities. Things were improving. At the end of the year he registered for AP Statistics. I had my reservations, but was impressed with his dedication senior year. He even earned a 4 on the end-of-year exam! When he visited after first semester of college, he credited me with helping him rediscover the joy of learning. I was why he took math his senior year. It was my belief in him that convinced him to pursue goals he had given up on. Moments like these are the most transformative to me.

Biography

Stephanie Steines has taught at Decorah High School for 24 years. Her assignments have included mathematics classes from Algebra I to Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics, as well as AP Chemistry. She currently teaches Algebra I, Precalculus, and AP Statistics. Prior to her tenure in Decorah, she taught mathematics and science for one year at Postville High School and spent two years teaching science at Fillmore Central High School. Stephanie aims to create an active learning environment in which students are engaged in discourse with a focus on development of mathematical understanding. Students in her classroom work together to explore concepts and develop problem solving skills. She encourages students to maintain a growth mindset while they learn from their errors and build stronger, deeper understanding of mathematics. Stephanie has participated in the AP Statistics Reading since 2014. Recently she was promoted to be a Table Leader helping to guide colleagues in the scoring of student responses. She is a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and has served on the Executive Board of the Iowa Council of Teachers of Mathematics since 2022. She also serves on the Iowa Higher Education Mathematics Transition Advisory Council, which focuses on the transition between high school and introductory collegiate level mathematics. In her district, Stephanie has worked as a cooperating teacher with pre-service education students and served as the Department Representative on the District Professional Learning Community Team for seven years. Stephanie earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in mathematics and chemistry from Luther College and an M.A. in mathematics from the University of Northern Iowa. She is certified in 5-12 mathematics and 5-12 chemistry.

High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

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