While students at GW are attending classes in Foggy Bottom, most days you will find Avani Gandhi also making her way to Jefferson Middle School in Southwest D.C. Gandhi, a GWTeach student, is currently completing her Apprentice Teaching semester. This final internship will allow Gandhi to be eligible for teacher licensure upon graduation in May.
A senior studying Pure Mathematics and Psychological and Brain Sciences, Gandhi says the GWTeach program has prepared her the most for being a successful educator by the amount of classroom experience the curriculum builds in, “Since we gradually get more teaching experience, we get more comfortable with teaching, classroom management, and building student rapport.” Gandhi also attributes much of her preparation for Apprentice Teaching to Project-Based Learning, a 3000-level requirement for GWTeach students, which allowed her the opportunity to teach a full unit of study, over several days, in a local D.C. classroom.
Gandhi says teaching math concepts from a student’s perspective has been one of the most useful pieces of advice that she has received about teaching math. She tries to remember her own experiences as a novice learner in math, in order to better scaffold learning opportunities for her students. She also explains that during Apprentice Teaching, which is a 25-hour per week internship, she is able to become more involved and “[enjoy] the school culture that Jefferson has,” describing it as “a special place to work.”
It also comes as no surprise that this academic year has continued to present obstacles due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, “I see how much online school affected my students' learning... They are further behind in the material than they normally would be...” Despite the challenges, however, Gandhi says she spends time trying to boost student morale and tries to keep the students feeling positive about both math and school.
Following graduation, Avani hopes to take some time off to travel, before returning to teach full time in D.C.