Melissa Khoo

Teaching Philosophy

Important skills I want to teach my students

I want my students to be able to think creatively, independently, and logically. I want them to learn pattern recognition. I want my students to be able to articulate ideas in a clear and succinct manner.

Teaching methods to reach these goals

I emphasize experiential learning via pattern recognition, and I encourage active learning from my students.

My favorite projects

Favorite projects include the students flying two paper airplane models to determine which design is more aerodynamic; creating with a sheet of paper an open-topped box that will maximize the number of M&Ms the box can hold; and performing a capture-recapture activity to simulate how endangered animals are counted. Others are determining which type of cup (ceramic, Styrofoam or paper) can better insulate hot water (an application of Newton’s Law of Cooling); using spaghetti and string to create a trigonometric graph; and using a clinometer and trigonometric concepts to measure the height of any object.

What I like best about teaching at Seven Hills

Students are engaged and interested in learning. They make teaching a two-way street between a teacher and students.