As a teacher, I think that one of the most important things
for us to remember is that the students in our classroom differ in many ways
and sometimes this becomes evident in their learning. All of our students need
a sufficient amount of time and a variety of different problem solving options
to appeal to the divers learning styles that we will see within our classrooms.
When we differentiate instruction for
our students we are helping our students achieve their learning potential by
providing them with the learning landscapes in which they can identify the type
of learning style that is suitable for them. This weeks reading focused on
differentiation in mathematics instruction. Within the reading of Capacity Building Series: Differenting Mathematics
Instruction, I learned that it is very important to value the diversity
of students thinking and implement strategies to differentiate the learning
process for all of our students. One of the strategies that were discussed
throughout the document was providing students with open-ended tasks. An open-ended
task is when a teacher provides their students with a problem or a task that
has many different ways that the problem can be approached. This problem that
is provided to the students does not have a single correct solution to the
problem, so that the students can provide an answer to the solution regardless
of their knowledge and experience in mathematics.
In the math mindset modules, we watch a video that discusses
the relationship between student’s speed in math and their understanding of
mathematical concepts. The video suggests that the most successful students are
not those that are really fast and don’t mess up, they are the ones that make
mistakes and learn from their mistakes.
I found this to be quite interesting because I know that it is
completely true but when I was younger, I always felt like math was a race and
if I didn’t finish my work as fast as my classmates, then I was falling behind.
I was also always worried to make a mistake in math and I think that the
majority of students share the same feeling about mathematics. This is why it is important for teachers to
stress that math is not a race and it is okay to make mistakes. The harder that
you work at math and the more that you refine your skills with different
strategies will help give you a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.
This week I got to
experience my first webinar as a participant. It was an excellent learning
experience for me as Teresa did a great job in leading our group in discussions
and activities based on math inquiry. It was really interesting to see how we
can all come together via the internet while we were all in different locations
to discuss math. As a teacher, I can see myself using webinars in the classroom
with my students and perhaps even with my colleagues for my very own
professional development.
Hey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post! Interesting to see your take on open ended questions. These questions definitely cater to all types of learners which is beneficial in an elementary class. I love how there can be more than one solution for these types of questions so students are constantly challenged. I find that when students or even myself, are put to a challenge it requires more thinking and learning as you need to brainstorm other possibilities for solutions other than your original idea. Doing so truly demonstrates ones understanding of a concept and I believe boosts their confidence as well. In addition, I also enjoyed the webinars as it was a new concept to me. I can see myself using this in upper grades I think for students to share ideas to one another or as another option of presenting.
Hey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI love what you wrote about the importance of differentiating instruction for our students. The old school way of thinking that there is only way to teach and the students better understand or else is wrong on so many levels. Like you said, we will have students with so many different learning styles that it only makes sense to have multiple teaching styles as well. I agreee that open-ended questions are a great way to differentiate for our students. Math shouldn't be about hard questions with one right answer. They should allow students to explore math and discover multiple ways of solving problems.
Great blog post!