TEACHER'S CORNER: ALGEBRA TEACHER USES TRICKS TO INTEREST STUDENTS

Marilyn Jansen's job involves taking the terror out of algebra and geometry.

"Many of these students came into algebra with many fears and uncertainties about their ability to succeed," Jansen said. "Some of the horror stories they have heard have terrified them."

But Jansen, who teaches algebra and geometry classes at R.O. Hawkins Junior High School in Jackson, uses some "tricks" to keep the students motivated.

During one geometry lesson, her students found the ratios of right triangles through their own efforts, not through information she provided.

"The delight that was registering on the faces of these ninth graders was wonderful," she said. "They were sure they had discovered some cool `tricks' and I let them go on thinking that they had."

Jansen likes to promote thinking in her classes so she created a "problem of the week." Students are given extra credit points for solving the problems, which aren't always based on mathematical concepts but do require a little more work to solve.

"The primary purpose of these problems is to encourage students to dig a little deeper into a problem," she said, adding that many require the students to use skills they didn't realize they possessed.

Jansen was influenced by her teachers to become a teacher herself. She has been teaching for 16 years.

"There were certain teachers in my school years who had impressed me," she said. "I especially enjoyed their classes and felt that I had learned lots in those classes. I suppose it was the influence of these teachers which ultimately led me to my decision to become a teacher."

Jansen is a graduate of Notre Dame College in St. Louis. She earned a master's degree in mathematics from Southeast Missouri State University. She and her husband, Mike, have two daughters, Sara and Kristy.