Alvin W. Shields teaches Math Lab, a course of study that concentrates on the use of higher-level thinking skills through acquired problem-solving strategies and enhanced computational techniques for all students, kindergarten through sixth grade at Hunter College Elementary School (HCES). He also serves as the Math Curriculum Coordinator, ensuring that the entire HCES math curriculum is systematized and synchronized across and throughout grade levels while employing the most innovative and current curricula.
He began his tenure at HCES as a fourth-grade, classroom teacher in September 1995. He taught in this capacity for eight years specializing in teaching grammar and math for both fourth-grade classes. Prior to HCES, he taught language arts for sixth, seven, and eighth grades, and he taught all subjects to fifth-grade students and seventh-grade students.
Mr. Shields received his B.A. from Boston College majoring in philosophy. A member of the Honors Program, he was also conferred the designation Honor of Scholar of the College upon graduation. He continued his education at Fordham University Graduate School where he received an M.S. in Education. Currently, he is working on his Ph.D. in Urban Education, specializing in Science, Math, and Technology, at The Graduate Center, CUNY. Besides his New York State Teacher Certification, Grades Nursery through Six, Mr. Shields also holds a Gifted Education Teaching Certificate.
Awarded academic scholarships to both graduate and undergraduate schools, Mr. Shields has been the recipient of a National Endowment for Education Fellowship and a Council for Basic Education Fellowship each allowing him to study abroad. He is currently a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, a member of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New York State, and a lapsed member of the National Council of Teachers of English.
As an Adjunct Lecturer at Hunter College Graduate School, Mr. Shields has taught in the Educational Foundations & Counseling Program that prepares graduate students to become elementary and high school teachers. He has conducted academic workshops on topics such as effective technology implementation in the classroom. for the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies for Education (NYSCATE), the Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education in New York State (AGATE), and the National Teacher Training Institute for Math, Science, and Technology (NTTI). He also served as a Master Teacher, for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) CyberSchool, a nationwide internet educational program that provided teachers with lesson plans and students with lessons in conjunction with the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan.
Mr. Shields has created two websites for the HCES community as well as for students, parents, and teachers worldwide. 4shields is located on this page. This website contains a number of links to assist learning, and it is visited daily by hundreds of users seeking to increase their understanding of a variety of educational topics. The HCES Mathematics Initiative Forum (MIF) website was created to delineate effective mathematics curricula and the best mathematics teaching practices available. This site presents benchmarks created to ensure that education in math is planned and implemented to serve the needs, learning styles, abilities, and development of the gifted and talented student population at HCES. Both of these websites are continual works in progress.
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