Alumna joins former mentors on math education trip to Guatemala

Alumna joins former mentors on math education trip to Guatemala

When Megan Steffen presented at the Wisconsin Mathematics Council's annual conference, a reunion with former mentors opened the door to an unexpected teaching experience abroad.

Steffen, '22, graduated from UW-La Crosse with a major in math education and a minor in Spanish before starting her career as a math teacher at Oconomowoc High School.

As Steffen was preparing her conference presentation, Maggie McHugh, a lecturer in UWL's Mathematics & Statistics Department, was simultaneously helping organize the Wisconsin Mathematics Council's trip to Guatemala, partnering with the nonprofit MathKind to bring Wisconsin educators together for an immersive professional development experience.

"This is the second time the council has hosted a trip for Wisconsin educators to go to Guatemala," McHugh says. "The trip is open to any and all Wisconsin educators, with a majority of recruitment happening during the council's annual conference."

That's where McHugh reconnected with Steffen.

"Before coming to UWL, I taught middle school in the School District of La Crosse, where Megan was my Field II student and student teacher during the pandemic," McHugh says. "We stayed in touch, and when I saw her at the annual conference and she expressed interest in Guatemala, I immediately knew it would be a great opportunity for her."

Steffen joined McHugh for the nine-day trip, which included a mix of cultural immersion, classroom observation and collaborative teaching at La Salle School, a PK-12 school in Antigua.

"Megan was the youngest participant in the group, but her energy and enthusiasm for education was contagious," McHugh shares. "I think experiences where educators who have been in the field for only a few years work alongside educators who have 10, 15, or even 20-plus years of experience are so invaluable. Because of the nature of the trip, we were all 'learners.'"

During the week, each of the 12 Wisconsin educators was paired with a host teacher to observe, collaborate and eventually teach or co-teach lessons. In addition, Wisconsin and Guatemalan educators from La Salle and surrounding schools participated in professional development sessions, both at the elementary and secondary levels.

McHugh led a session for secondary-level educators alongside Edward Kim, a professor in UWL's Mathematics & Statistics department who joined McHugh on the trip. Kim, like McHugh, knew Steffen from her time as a student.

"Eddie was one of my professors in college for the hardest course I took during my time at UWL," Steffen says. "His course really taught me how to persevere, collaborate with others and challenge myself to do something new."

Besides the full-circle moments associated with being considered a colleague among her mentors, Steffen grew as an educator, testing her skills in a new language and learning to adapt her teaching to different cultural and classroom contexts.

"I learned so much about how to work with students of different backgrounds and how to incorporate more relevant data into my lessons," Steffen says. "Because of my Spanish knowledge, I challenged myself to teach my lessons completely in Spanish. It was hard! I was extra tired at the end of each day. However, it was nice to see what I am capable of."

Steffen's knowledge and fluency of Spanish impressed both McHugh and Kim.

"During our visit week, I got to observe Megan interacting with the students in her fluent Spanish," Kim says. "She dove headfirst during the professional development sessions, working with a group of local teachers on the mathematics and design challenge. As a Spanish speaker myself, I was impressed at the number of interactions that she dove into without hesitation."

McHugh says Steffen's participation in the Guatemala trip demonstrates how UWL's Math Education program empowers educators and supports professional development.

For Steffen, the trip was more than a professional development opportunity; it was a reminder of why she chose teaching in the first place.

"Experiences like Guatemala remind me of the importance of education," she says. "It gave me new energy and confidence as a teacher and showed me what is possible when you step outside your comfort zone."