Online Teacher Profile - Maria Gross

BACKGROUND
Maria Gross caught the online teaching bug after earning her own Master's degree in Teaching through an online program. Gross, who lives in Washington State and today teaches a mix of brick-and-mortar students and online students, says she fell in love with online learning through her own experience as an online student. "Going to school online was so convenient because it allowed me to continue working full time, and I learned so much."

After graduating in 2007, Gross happened to hear one of her online teachers speak at a seminar she attended in Seattle. "I spoke to my teacher about my interest, and she suggested I check out online high schools because it's the hottest thing going on in education," said Gross.

VIRTUAL LEARNING PROVIDES A SOLUTION FOR BOTH SCHOOL AND CAREER
As the head of the math and science departments at a small Christian private school with only seven graduating seniors last year, Gross was interested in offering online classes as a way to provide her seniors a full schedule, including advanced courses, without having to hire extra staff for such a small number of students with different levels of knowledge.

During her research into online curriculum and instruction, Gross discovered Aventa Learning and eventually chose Aventa to provide online Advanced Placement® math classes as well as consumer math courses for her school. Her research also inspired her to apply for a part-time job with Aventa to teach math online and supplement her traditional classroom teaching. "I looked at it two ways – as a solution for my school and as a solution for my teaching career," she explains.

In her bricks-and-mortar school, Gross teaches both math and physics. As an online teacher for the past three years, Gross has also taught AP Statistics, AP Calculus, Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry, and Algebra II to high school students across the country. Since 2002, Aventa Learning has partnered with more than 1,800 school districts and institutions to deliver high-quality curriculum and instruction online.

While both teaching environments offer Gross the opportunity to apply her expertise in different ways, she says that one interesting difference between teaching in a classroom and teaching online is how she recognizes when a student needs extra help.

"In a classroom, you’ve got a visual cue that a student doesn't understand something, and you've got to switch gears. In an online class, students need to be motivated enough to ask questions, and when they are, I can explain things in another way through email," she explains. "As one of my students told me, 'Every morning, I woke up and the answer was there.'"

In addition to students feeling motivated to reach out to her with questions, Gross takes advantage of the online environment to assess her students’ mastery of a subject, as well as identify when students are not attending class. For example, once, she received an early warning message that a student hadn’t been online for awhile. Using tools such as these and regular communications with her online students helps Gross "look for clues and ask questions" about where and when students need help to stay engaged and motivated.

REACHING STUDENTS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, INCLUDING PRISON
Teaching online has broadened Gross’s perspective and given her the opportunity to reach students from all walks of life. She says, "I love having students from all over the country and being exposed to very different people. Some of my students are in credit recovery programs and are at home taking care of a baby; another has severe insomnia, so he studies at a time of day when he works best. I love getting to know the different stories behind the kids and learning about each other through online discussions with my classes."

One of Gross’ most inspiring teaching experiences has been teaching math credit recovery classes virtually to juvenile offenders in Chicago’s Cook County Jail high school program. "I’m really proud of the students from Chicago Public Schools who are in a juvenile facility and getting their high school diploma through Aventa," Gross says. "To see the success rate and the individuals we were able to get through Algebra II while they were in prison was absolutely amazing."

Gross is also proud of the great working relationship she forged with the on-site mentor for the jail’s virtual learning program, which resulted in regular mentor-teacher communication about the students’ progress and needs and contributed to her students’ success. She says the program reached up to 60 juvenile offenders when she began teaching and is now serving more than 100 students.

RESULTS: ONLINE TEACHING REVEALS NEW WAYS TO TEACH
Gross is convinced that teaching online has made her a better teacher – both as an online teacher and a traditional classroom teacher.

"In the online classroom, I have had to learn to anticipate problems and issues that may arise, and I’m a much better teacher now because of it," Gross explains. "I’m also a better classroom teacher now because I can share experiences that I’ve learned online."

For example, Gross says that "completing the square" was something she used to teach in the same way, regardless of the class. But when one of her online students was struggling to understand the concept, she realized she would have to look for a different way to teach it. Gross researched some other ways to explain the idea, typed up her notes and emailed the student, who finally grasped the lesson.

"I had to force myself to write it down and teach the student that way instead of talking and verbalizing what I was trying to get across. Now, I always teach it this way," she says.

STUDENTS AND MENTORS ON MARIA GROSS

"Thank you for all your persistence and for being there every step of the way." – Algebra 2 Student

"I appreciate your advice. You made a difference in Kayla's academic future." – Algebra 2 Mentor

"I would like to thank you for not giving up on me and giving me a chance to pull myself up and make a ok grade because another person wouldn’t have given me all of the chances that you gave me." – Algebra 2 CR (CPS) Student

"Maria, thank you so very much for being such a strong and guiding instructor. If my guys can earn a "C" through you, then they can do it with any other teacher. You're one of the best" – Algebra 2 CR (CPS) Mentor

"I want to thank you for all that you did to help me with this class. It was reassuring knowing that if I had a question, I could count on a response from you by the next morning." – AP Stats Student