2019 Kansas Master Teacher Dedra Braxmeyer

Dedra Braxmeyer enjoys the cycle of planning, teaching, assessing, and reflecting on lessons. But while she likes routine, she knows ongoing innovation is essential because, “Who wouldn’t get bored teaching the same properties of logarithms the same way for twenty years?”

When introducing a new skill to her students, Braxmeyer begins with low-risk classroom activities. Strategies such as “speed-dating” with exponential functions and playing cards that introduce new vocabulary, give students a chance to become familiar with a unit’s main ideas, and builds the foundation for new concepts to be introduced.

“Ultimately, I am more effective each year because I continue to learn, create new curriculum materials, and adopt new strategies,” she said. If she were to give titles to each year, they might include “The Rise of the Mini Quizzes,” “The Unit Packet: A One-Stop Shop,” or “Hello, Canvas.” “None of these were mandates,” she said, “But each one, and countless others, changed my teaching and students’ learning for the better.”

Braxmeyer earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education, mathematics, and computer science from Kansas State University in 1999. In 2001, she completed a master’s degree in education, instructional technology from Peru State College (Nebraska). She has been at Manhattan High School since 2006.

“I hope every student leaves my course with an appreciation for mathematics and a belief that mathematics is a series of inter-connected ideas that they can apply in lots of situations,” she said. She invites students to, “put their skills to work in real life scenarios and activities using math concepts,” writes a current student.

As her principal describes her, she is, “the ‘Total Package.’ She understands and relates well to students, has the trust and respect of parents, and maintains good relationships with her colleagues and her superiors in addition to [having] a high level of admiration across all constituency groups.”

For a teacher who deals with numbers, functions, and formula, Braxmeyer never forgets the secret to reaching students is “the immeasurable day-to-day interactions [that] make all the difference.”