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OptimizED for Learning

Rated 4.91 out of 5, based on 576 reviews
176 Followers
Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
About the store
My experience is reflected in my mission. To create the best materials for optimizing teaching and learning. After years of working with poorly formatted content, created by corporations, I found myself settling for whatever come closest but either the quality or content was lacking in some capacity. Using over a decade of teaching experience I began creating what has now become OptimizED. The creations started with guided notes that were visually appealing and easy to follow, quickly summarizing the main ideas. Using real-world feedback from students and my own experiences with implementation, I would continuously edit and rework until everything was just right. Likewise, I began formulating activities that addressed specifically what needed to be taught, in a fun exploratory way. Then, I tackled the homework side of the equation. I created concise differentiated assignments with plenty of space to show work. These questions were directly correlated with the tests I created, to show evidence of mastery. I even invented a new feedback system for quick grading, combined with a student self-reflection component, using a standards-based approach. After years of reworking and editing all of this content, I decided to share my creations. It has become my mission to give teachers something that students positively respond to, created by someone in the profession. In essence, materials that will optimize a teacher's impact on student learning.
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Preview of Dot Plots and Data Distribution Notes

Dot Plots and Data Distribution Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach about dot plots, line plots and the distribution of data. Both reading and creating dot/line plots is addressed on the first page of the notes. The entire second page is dedicated to describing the shape of the data. From bell curves to skewed left or right, dot plots are used to describe statistical elements of data sets. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Comp
Preview of Powers and Exponents Notes

Powers and Exponents Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach about powers and exponents. These notes are a great resource for students and teachers! It is a great way to get kids to learn how to take notes without the need to write long cumbersome sentences. In essence, the notes are designed to address essential information and make it visually appealing. There are interactive components and mini-investigations built in. Your students will actually enjoy filling in the notes! The answer key is provided.
Preview of Simplify Fractions Using Prime Factorization

Simplify Fractions Using Prime Factorization

A great use of prime factorization! Have your students break apart numerators and denominators into their prime parts. Explore the simplicity of simplifying fractions by eliminating matching primes! A sample problem is provided and simple directions are clearly marked. Can be used as either a warm up or an interactive class/group activity after learning about prime factorization. The license is intended for one teacher and all of their classes. Please purchase additional licenses for each addit
Preview of Long Division Notes (Standard Algorithm)

Long Division Notes (Standard Algorithm)

Finally, a visually appealing and interactive way to teach long division! A connection is made to students' prior understanding of division to help make sense of the standard algorithm and how it works. More importantly, the reason WHY it works is explored. The correlation with the long arm method is addressed as well. The notes conclude with an explanation of how to turn remainders into fractions, to achieve mixed number solutions. In the end, these notes really helped my students visualize and
Preview of GCF and LCM Notes

GCF and LCM Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach about Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple. The notes concisely demonstrate both the traditional listing method and the use of prime factorization with Venn diagrams. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabulary and concepts are simplified and made attainable for all students. In essence, the notes are designed to address essential informat
Preview of Tape Diagrams Investigation

Tape Diagrams Investigation

Explore how to use tape diagrams to find the percent of a number in this interactive, self-led investigation. Students will have fun completing the student-centered activity, allowing you to provided the supportive role as the teacher. Through scaffolding, students begin with a simple example and specific steps to follow. Most importantly, student will finally understand what their answers mean and how it makes sense within the context of percents. The second component of the investigation has
Preview of Order of Operations Notes

Order of Operations Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach the order of operations. From the classic acronym of PEMDAS to the specifics of using parenthesis and brackets, these interactive notes help student see how to effectively communicate their thinking using a funneling method of showing work. Your students will be solving seemingly complex expressions in no time! Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabula
Preview of Find Missing Percents and Totals Notes

Find Missing Percents and Totals Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach how to find the missing percent or missing total in a math problem. Calculating the percent of a number can be fairly straight forward, but finding a missing percent (e.g. what percent of 40 is 6?) or a missing total (e.g. 30% of what number is 45?) can be challenging. These notes explore how to solve such problems with ease, WITHOUT the need for algebra. In essence, the notes explain how to set up and solve such problems using proportions. The u
Preview of Measures of Center Notes

Measures of Center Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach statistical measures of center. Finding the mean, median and mode are addressed but the exploration goes much further that simply finding values. Understanding what the values represent is emphasized in these notes. Also identifying the best measure of center given the situation is thoroughly addressed. The concept of range and outliers is given special mention as well. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in
Preview of Add and Subtract Decimals Notes

Add and Subtract Decimals Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach adding and subtracting decimals! These notes address the importance of place value and explains WHY you need to line up the decimal point and add zeros when necessary. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabulary and concepts are simplified and made attainable for all students. In essence, the notes are designed to address essential information and mak
Preview of Equivalent Rates and Ratios Notes

Equivalent Rates and Ratios Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach about equivalent rates and ratios. The notes begin by establishing ratio relationships between two quantities as equivalent and how it relates to equivalent fractions. Through the use of both fractions and tables, the equivalency of ratios is explored. The notes even address number patterns, rules and general rules to make this concept clear to your students. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to
Preview of Multiply Decimals Notes

Multiply Decimals Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach multiplying decimals! These notes address the need to multiply by powers of 10 to create simpler whole number questions to solve using the traditional algorithm for multiplication. More importantly it explains WHY the decimal point moves in the answer. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabulary and concepts are simplified and made attainable for all s
Preview of Ratios Notes

Ratios Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach about naming ratios. The notes clearly and concisely identify the various ways to represent ratio relationships. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabulary and concepts are simplified and made attainable for all students. In essence, the notes are designed to address essential information and make it visually appealing. Your students will actually enj
Preview of Percent of a Number Notes

Percent of a Number Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach how to find the percent of a number. The notes explore three different ways to calculate the percent of a number. The use of tape diagrams, fractions and decimals is explained and explored. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabulary and concepts are simplified and made attainable for all students. In essence, the notes are designed to address essentia
Preview of Rates and Unit Rates Notes

Rates and Unit Rates Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach about rates and unit rates. The use of the greatest common factor (GCF) is highlighted for simplifying rates. Likewise, the concept of unit rates is explored. The notes even addresses how to interpret the answer regardless of the division order, when finding the unit rate. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabulary and concepts are simplified and made
Preview of Ratios and Rates Notes Bundle

Ratios and Rates Notes Bundle

This notes bundle covers ratios, rates and unit rates extensively. From naming ratios to converting rates into unit rates and even using equivalent fractions and tables to solve real-world problems. A savings of $3 over buying each notes page separately! Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabulary and concepts are simplified and made attainable for all students. In essence, the notes are designed to
Preview of Describing Patterns Notes

Describing Patterns Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach about rules and general rules in a number sequence. These notes address the relationship that exists between the terms in a number sequence as well as between the term number (a number's location) and the term. This is a precursor to the x and y tables seen in Algebra. More importantly, these notes address how to communicate such a relationship as an equation, using two different variables. Your students will be writing equations to communicate t
Preview of Histogram Notes

Histogram Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach about histograms. Comparisons are made between bar graphs and histograms to tie in what students already know. These notes are designed to be a quick reference document about histograms. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take notes in an easy to follow fill-in-the-blank format. Complex vocabulary and concepts are simplified and made attainable for all students. In essence, the notes are designed to address essential i
Preview of Box Plot Notes

Box Plot Notes

A visually appealing and interactive way to teach box plots. Of all the types of graphs, box plots (formerly box-and-whisker plots) can be the most confusing for students. These notes go a long way at clearing up that confusion, in both the understanding the graph and how to create one. Students are guided through the creation process and then asked to make sense of the graph. The interquartile range (IQR) is also mentioned. Actis Standard notes are a great way to teach students how to take no
Preview of Proportions Set Up Investigation

Proportions Set Up Investigation

Explore how to use proportions to solve percent problems. This includes finding the percent of a number, missing percents or missing totals. Students will have fun completing the student-centered activity, allowing you to provided the supportive role as the teacher. In this investigation students begin by identifying what they know and what they need to find out for various types of problems. Next students use this knowledge to set up proportions that will help them solve such problems. Your st
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About the store

Experience

My experience is reflected in my mission. To create the best materials for optimizing teaching and learning. After years of working with poorly formatted content, created by corporations, I found myself settling for whatever come closest but either the quality or content was lacking in some capacity. Using over a decade of teaching experience I began creating what has now become OptimizED. The creations started with guided notes that were visually appealing and easy to follow, quickly summarizing the main ideas. Using real-world feedback from students and my own experiences with implementation, I would continuously edit and rework until everything was just right. Likewise, I began formulating activities that addressed specifically what needed to be taught, in a fun exploratory way. Then, I tackled the homework side of the equation. I created concise differentiated assignments with plenty of space to show work. These questions were directly correlated with the tests I created, to show evidence of mastery. I even invented a new feedback system for quick grading, combined with a student self-reflection component, using a standards-based approach. After years of reworking and editing all of this content, I decided to share my creations. It has become my mission to give teachers something that students positively respond to, created by someone in the profession. In essence, materials that will optimize a teacher's impact on student learning.

Teaching style

Differentiated, efficient and student-centered.

Awards & shining teacher moments

One of only two hundred educators selected nationwide as part of the Learnzillion Dream Team in 2013 to create online lessons. Consultant for companies such as McGraw Hill, Smarter Balanced, and Tang Math.

My own education history

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education Masters in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

Additional biographical information

Quality and results come standard.