Taking Online Courses Leads Math Teacher to be Online Instructor

By Leslie Cranford, Section Manager

Phyllis Clark's journey to teaching for TTU K-12 is a perfect example of the saying, "Life is what happens when you're making other plans." Her path didn't exactly follow the direction she thought she would be taking, but it brought her to a place where she's very happy.

"I originally wanted to teach middle school math, so I got my elementary certification which covered up to 8th grade. However, I was hired by a high school after I graduated, so I've never taught under my original degree," she explained.

Clark says while her friends were working on their master's degrees, she went back to Texas Tech and Sul Ross University to get her secondary math certification.

"I've had a combined 25 years in two separate careers of teaching high school math, nine and 16 years, with 10 years in between to stay home with my three boys. After my husband's death in 2010, I knew it was time to start working toward a new future. With the full support of my boys and family, I took online courses to get my Master of Education in Educational Technology Leadership from Lamar University."

Clark said she also wanted the ability to teach dual-credit math and collegiate-level math courses, so she also took online graduate math courses from Texas Tech and Texas Women's University.

"With my boys on their own, it was time to fulfill a promise that I made to myself after my husband died, it was time to start living. I wanted to travel and do things that a traditional classroom couldn't support," she said. "Since I had taken many courses online, and my sons all took courses through TTU K-12 to advance in math placement, it became my dream to teach online courses."

Clark was hired at TTU K-12 in August 2019, as the math subject-matter expert and full-time instructor. She has taught all high school math courses at one time or another during her career. Currently she's teaching Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry, but she has also taught college algebra, elementary statistics, and Math for Business & Social Sciences at the university level.

She believes strongly that everyone is capable of learning and doing math.

"I get chills anytime I hear a student (or parent) say that they can't do it. They just haven't been exposed to the method that they'll understand. The internet provides many more avenues of learning than what I had growing up and while teaching at a traditional school," she said.

That's why she says the light bulb moment that students experience when they finally grasp a concept is always rewarding.

"What I find even more rewarding is when a student comes back to you, sometimes years later, to thank you for what you taught them. They were able to see the value of my class in their college courses and/or careers. When a student, current or former, takes the time to recognize you, it tugs at your heartstrings. They are my family!"

Although Clark has a passion for teaching online, she says she's still working out the kinks of the different style of teaching.

"It is difficult not talking to them face to face as in traditional school," she said. "I do think that online is the way of the future for many students. Students do have to be more disciplined with their time since there is no hard deadline for assignments."

Clark offers tutorial times each week, so she does get to meet a few students that way. Offering "live sessions" that are also recorded so students can view at their leisure would be helpful, she said.

"My goal is to have my own videos for the lessons, especially the more difficult ones; although there are so many great videos out there, I'm not sure that I can do better."

Lastly, Clark encourages students to not be afraid to ask questions. She offers this advice to all students, both online and traditional.

"I've known too many people that think that asking questions makes them appear to be not intelligent. I believe it is the other way around. I believe that the most intelligent people ask questions until they understand fully."