Madetzke Helps Students “See” Math
By Jill Fennema –
Ashley (Bloemendaal) Madetzke is teaching 7th and 8th grade math at Edgerton Public School. She is also teaching two college classes – pre-calculus and algebra.
Ashley grew up in Pipestone. Her parents are Mike and Leann Bloemendaal. She graduated from Pipestone Area High School in 2014.
After high school, Ashley went to South Dakota State University and earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics in December of 2018. She then went to Southwest Minnesota State University and received her master’s in education with an emphasis in math in May of 2021.
She switched her major in college to become a teacher after she had spent time tutoring students and saw the way they would light up after understanding and learning a new concept. She has enjoyed building relationships with her students.
After college, Ashley taught and worked as a long-term substitute teacher at Marshall High School for one year, followed by two years of teaching math at Worthington High School.
Ashley commented that one of the most challenging things about teaching math is that math concepts build off of one another. When a student does not fully understand one topic, it can make the next one even harder. Students that struggle can have gaps in the knowledge that make math more difficult as they go on. When she has a student who is struggling with a concept, she likes to try to change up the way she teaches it.
“I often try to find something visual for a student. It can be something like using counters in addition, or coloring “like” terms to help with combining them,” she said. “Students tend to do better when they can find a way to ‘see’ the math.”
Ashley married Andrew Madetzke on August 14. Andrew is a plumber with Rieck Plumbing and Heating. They have three dogs – Chloe, Milo, and Louie.
In her spare time, Ashley loves playing softball. She is a volunteer for the Jasper Softball League and the Pipestone Fall Ball team. One of her favorite things to do is watch her sister Shelby play softball at Southwest MN State University.
