Nader Mohyuddin has taught Honors Geometry, Honors Applied Math, and AP Calculus for the last four years at Chattanooga High Center for Creative Arts. Mr. Mohyuddin puts the growth mindset of students front and center in his classroom where he fosters collaboration, allows students to make mistakes, and builds a strong sense of community among his students.
Mr. Mohyuddin’s students also scored extremely well on standardized tests. In 2015-16, 58.8 percent were on track for the end of course test in geometry, nearly triple the district rate. In 2016-17, 52 percent scored on track while 20.4 percent scored at the mastered level.
A Volkswagen eLab awarded to Chattanooga High Center for Creative Arts earlier this year was due in large part to a math concept Mohyuddin included in the school’s application. His idea of what math students in his class could learn studying the Tesseract (or hypercube) intrigued the selection committee.
“The Tesseract is a 4-dimensional polytope unable to exist in our realm but can nevertheless be projected into it akin to how a 3-D object can cast a flat shadow,” he said. “Designing and building a projection of a Tesseract in the VW eLab would help bridge traditional geometry to higher level modes of synthesis and engineering design for my students.”
He said, “I remind students that a test is simply a measure of what they were able to show on a particular day and not a definitive judgment on their knowledge or skill.”