Anna Gardikiotis

Reno, NV | K-6, Mathematics, 2022

What motivates you to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching?

What motivates me to contributes to excellence in STEM teaching is ensuring that all students have the chance to think deeply, explore, and solve problems. I'm driven by the opportunity to design engaging lessons, providing time for meaningful practice, and create learning spaces where all learners are encouraged to take risks and discover how capable they are of being scientists, mathematicians, engineers, or creators.

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

A transformative moment for me was when I have had the opportunity to share strategies for teaching math in a way that fosters students' growth mindset, perseverance, and deep thinking. I was able to help other educators create classroom environments where students embraced making mistakes and persevered through challenging math problems by modeling lessons and co-teaching alongside other educators. Through this process, other educators were empowered to teach more hands-on math and problem solving, creating a richer and more engaging experience for students. Seeing students excited about math and teachers feeling inspired to teach math differently affirmed the power of collaboration to make math meaningful for all students.

Using your platform as a Presidential Awardee, how do you hope to advance our nation in STEM?

As a Presidential Awardee, I hope to advance STEM by collaborating with and coaching teachers in implementing a hands-on, problem-based math curriculum, and sharing best practices to build students' critical thinking skills. Additionally, I aim to expand access for elementary learners to robotics, coding, and project-based learning to inspire future STEM pathways and careers.

Biography

Anna Gardikiotis has been an educator for 11 years and has spent the last three years teaching second grade at Mamie Towles Elementary School - the same school she went to as a student and where her love of teaching began at a very young age. She previously taught kindergarten through second grade and worked as an instructional coach at Desert Heights Elementary School for six years. Her career began at Bailey Charter Elementary School, where she taught kindergarten for two years. Anna strives to ensure all students learn mathematics by meeting all of their needs. She cultivates a positive classroom culture and builds relationships with students, so that they have the confidence to share their mathematical strategies, mistakes, and learning. As a result, students embrace a growth mindset, which allows them to persevere through challenging mathematical problems. Anna enjoys sharing her instructional strategies for student-centered mathematics and passion for teaching mathematics. She served as an on-site mentor for four years and participated in peer observations for three years. Anna earned a B.S. in elementary education and an M.Ed. in educational leadership and administration from the University of Nevada, Reno. She is certified in kindergarten through eighth grade education.

High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

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