Jacob Thompson

Northglenn, CO | 7-12, Mathematics, 2021

What motivates you to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching?

A person’s understanding of mathematics can be a barrier to many aspects of life, whether it is pursuing a college education or recognizing when they’re being ripped off. Whenever a student works hard and grows more than expected in a school year, I have great pride knowing how many new opportunities they will have in their futures. Each year this motivates me to do my best to help students develop a strong enough understanding of mathematics that it becomes a gateway rather than a barrier.

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

I hope to advance our nation in STEM by sharing my passion for finding ways to make math engaging and relevant to students. As technology advances, there is less of a need for algorithmic thinking, and more of a need for the flexible thinking that allows people to persevere through difficult problems both in groups and individually. Textbooks and online programs are often disengaging and irrelevant to our students, so we need to be more creative to inspire the next generation of problem solvers.

Biography

Jake Thompson currently teaches sixth grade math at Skinner Middle School. Before this, he spent six years at STEM Lab teaching eighth grade math, computer science, and supporting the school as the Digital Literacy Partner. He started his career at Conrady Junior High School, where he spent one year as the Technology Instruction Coordinator after teaching sixth through eighth grade math for four years. Jake has a passion for creating memorable experiences for his students. He loves crafting lessons around current events that will spark curiosity and engage students in the mathematics they are learning. His students participate in Problem Based Learning projects each year, where they work in groups to come up with their own solutions to authentic problems before presenting to a panel of experts. His favorite project thus far had students find more equitable ways to administer fines for low-level crimes such as traffic violations, where they supported their solutions with relevant data found through their own research. His computer science students have also earned recognition in the Congressional App Challenge. One of Jake’s strongest skills is utilizing technology to help his students grow as 21st century learners. Beyond the typical technology tools used in mathematics classrooms, he utilizes robotics and coding to have students practice or demonstrate understanding of concepts they have learned. He has conducted many school and districtwide sessions throughout his career to help teachers use technology in their classrooms. Jake earned a B.S., cum laude, in mathematics teacher education from Illinois State University and an M.A.Ed. with a technology specialist endorsement from Dominican University. He is certified to teach mathematics and technology to grades 6-12.

High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

The views expressed in awardee profiles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF or the PAEMST program.