Kyle Schroeder
High School Math Teacher
Bachelor's Degree, Mathematics Education, University of Central Florida
Kyle Schroeder joined Iowa Connections Academy in 2024, having taught at brick-and-mortar schools since 2018.
Person-to-Person Connections
He’s learned that being a successful teacher begins with getting to know each of his students as people—as well as encouraging his students to get to know him. “Unless they connect with the teacher first,” he says, “it is hard to make them connect with the course.”
Unlike many traditional teachers, Mr. Schroder says that he likes “to let my personality show.” He makes sure to “converse with [students] about daily things or current events,” he continues, “so they see me as a person they can trust and listen to, rather than just someone who is lecturing at them.”
It’s especially important for the subject he teaches. “A lot of students don't enjoy math,” he acknowledges. Making person-to-person connections “allows students to be a little more comfortable,” he says, more willing “to put themselves out there and make math mistakes which are so crucial to advanced math learning.”
Whoa! No Way! OMG!
Geometry is a perfect example. Within the wide variety of high school math subjects, geometry can be one that for many students either clicks or doesn’t. Mr. Schroeder likes to use “visuals and technology that show the full scope of how a 3-D figure works,” he explains, “or how one concept connects to another.”
It’s easy to see the result. “Hearing ‘Whoa!’ ‘No Way!’ and ‘OMG!’ lets me know that they are making those connections themselves,” he says.
[I] converse with [students] about daily things or current events so they see me as a person they can trust and listen to, rather than just someone who is lecturing at them.
— Mr. Schroeder
Beyond the Classroom
When he isn’t teaching, Mr. Schroeder can be found playing and watching sports of all kinds “mainly playing hockey, volleyball, and softball,” he says. He enjoys spending time with his wife, watching their favorite TV shows, as well as playing “mobile games, video games, and board games.”