A good math teacher is one who has a close rapport with students, keeps up on trends in education and advances in technology, and makes math fun for students.

Joyce Cannone, who provided that definition, hopes to work on the last three parts of it when she attends the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference Wednesday through Saturday in San Antonio.

Ms. Cannone, who teaches pre-algebra, general math and high school fundamental math to eighth- and ninth-graders at Farrell Area Middle School, will be honored at a dinner Friday night as a recipient of the Future Leaders Annual Meeting Support Award.

She will be attending the conference cost-free to her and the district for winning the honor.

Ms. Cannone, 49, of Farrell, was chosen because of the district's diverse population and financial challenges, said Jim Rubillo, executive director of NCTM.

"She spoke very directly to three things the committee thought would be of value to her in attending," he added: aligning the district's curriculum to Pennsylvania's standards, helping teachers change their approach from a textbook-based technique to inquiry-based learning and performance assessment, and exploring the use of technology.

"I always wanted to be a good teacher," she said. "I'm learning new things. Just because I got my degree, I feel I've not finished my education."

Past conferences that she has attended have given her ideas for lessons that she could use with her students, she said.

"I love having active learners that have all their senses involved when they learn," she said. "If you teach the same thing every year, it becomes boring. If you can teach the same concepts with a new lesson, it makes it exciting for yourself."

Ms. Cannone didn't set out to be a math teacher when she entered college nine years ago at age 40. But she scored high in math placement tests and a teacher advised her to take math classes.

"I enjoy the challenge (of math) because everything else came easily to me," said the Youngstown State University graduate, who is starting the master's program at Pennsylvania State University's Shenango Campus in Sharon.

And, because she had to work to make math her best subject, "I understand the difficulties my students go through with math," she said. "That has helped me become a good teacher."

Principal Charles Sanitate said Ms. Cannone is conscientious, likes new ideas and is concerned about her students.

The NCTM award is only one of several she has received in her five years of teaching, all at Farrell. On March 28, she received the Radio Shack National Teachers Award.

"To do that, you have to be aggressive to earn each one of them," Sanitate said. "But, she doesn't do it for herself. She does it for her kids."

Ms. Cannone used a $600 award from Princeton University to buy safety protractors, manipulatives -- such as colored blocks for use in teaching fractions -- tablets and poster-sized Post-it notes for use in the classroom.

She wants to use the Radio Shack award -- $1,000 for her and $500 for the district -- for algebra and geometry computer programs.