via GIPHY
Welcome to my math blog! It was a
wonderful summer but now its time to put our noses to the grindstone. Our first
class back had me reminiscing about my previous experiences with math
throughout high school and elementary. I
have always been somewhat fearful of math. To be honest, I’m not sure why I was
intimidated by math but I know that many people share this feeling. During my
teaching placement, I felt that I could relate to many of my students fears of
math because I was once in their shoes many years ago. I was lucky enough to be able to work with
some of these students one on one and share some of my experiences with them.
One of the main things that I tried to teach them was to have a growth mindset
and not get too discouraged if problems arise that they feel they cannot
answer. I told them to never give up and to never be afraid to ask questions
because sometimes their questions can generate new ideas that may help them
solve their problems. I think that this
was really helpful to my students because it made them aware that not they may
not always understand mathematical concepts right away but if they believe that
they can do it and they keep trying then they will achieve success.
In class we play a game called “game
about squares“ which can be accessed online via: http://gameaboutsquares.com/. I really enjoyed this challenging
puzzle game. I think that this game could be a great resource for a teacher to
use in the classroom. The game is challenging enough that students will be
determined to continue playing to try and reach the highest level. I found that
many of us got pretty hooked on this game, as we all tried to get the highest
score. Which is why it was important to talk about how we could use a game like
this one effectively in our classrooms. As a teacher, you want the students to
have fun playing the game and to be immersed in the mathematical concepts but
you always want to be able to bring the students back after they have played
the game for a limited time. In class, we discussed effective ways to use this
game in the classroom and I think that it is important to not have the students
play the game too long but perhaps, limit their playing time and then use the
game as incentive for them to play at a later time.
via: gameaboutsquares.com
Over the past year, my experience
in mathematics has grown a great deal. Last years math class, as well as
teaching mathematics in my placement has given me a lot of confidence to go out
there and teach this subject area but I know that there is still much room for
me to grow and develop my teaching skills. That is one of the main reasons why
I am looking forward to the next six weeks in class. I believe that everyday is
an opportunity for us to learn something new and I am excited to see the new
activities and strategies that we will dive into during our class
Hi Kevin!
ReplyDeleteYou raise some good points when you identified your prior experiences with math. Math has always had the negative stigma associated with it throughout our development. It’s important that the coming generation of educators that we squash that idea and bring comfort to the subject and the learners. The concept of the growth mindset is really important to encourage to students as they face the challenges that they face in math class to reach success. By making personal connections with them, it helps both you as the teacher and them as students to understand what both of you require to make math meaningful and relevant. Through real-world scenarios, it enables students to see that math matters and that over time and working on their mistakes or challenges they face, they will reach their goals they set for themselves.
Great post!
Daniel.
Kevin, I really enjoyed your blog as I found I related to much of it. I too was extremely timid when it came to math growing up. I would always find myself checking the answers at the back of the textbook or completely giving up before I even started a questions. This is why when I was in my first placement I also put a strong emphasis on a growth mindset. I found that many students would just say "I can't" without even trying. Math is a process and I believe it is important to journey alongside students as they are struggling to learn something. Great post this week!
ReplyDeleteGreat start to your blog. I appreciate you sharing your personal reflections on last year's practicum experiences. As we go forward also link readings to your post as well as the webinars and perhaps your unit planning.
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