One of the important things we need to remember about teaching mathematics is to have fun. Both students and teachers benefit from fun and interactive activities in the classroom, and learning mathematics this way is no exception. Most of the math curriculum can be taught using either manipulatives or real-life applications, and when at all possible, these methods should be incorporated into the lessons.
Some teachers have their fortes in other subject areas aside from math, and often feel discouraged or intimidated when trying to incorporate manipulatives into their lessons, or even stray away from the layout of the textbook. Classroom management becomes a greater concern when group work is introduced or manipulatives are brought out for instruction. Kids see groups as an opportunity to socialize or see manipulatives as toys to play with. The overall benefits significantly outweigh the cons to using manipulatives. Teachers can even deeper their understanding of the curriculum by simply watching the students explore and build upon their ideas.
If proper rules and structures are put in place before hand, if the teacher is well prepared for the lesson, and if the lesson includes opportunities for exploration, collaboration and reflection for the students, then there is no reason why the lesson and use of the manipulatives can't be successful.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Blog # 3 - Bring in the World
TV shows like CSI use real-life examples of situations to create interest and excitement in their shows that draw its viewers to watch on a nightly basis. Though the show itself is not real, the ideas behind it have the potential to be. It is quite possible that the crimes that are depicted in the show could have happened at one point or another. But now I ask - would the show be as interesting if the events were completely fictional and far from believable?
Teaching concepts in our school systems should be set up the same way. Our history, geography and science classes are all about true facts and instances, but our math classes seem to be strict and by-the-book. If math teachers used real-life examples and situations, and created lessons and units on that, students would be much more interested in the material. Granted, not everyone enjoys history, geography or even science, but the enthusiasm for tackling real-life situations is far greater than when the material is just rules or conventions.
We learned in class this week that "the best teachers bring the world into the classroom." Students develop a deeper understanding of the material if they can believe what they are working on. Instead of just doing straight computations for a set of data (trying to add the values), imaging that we are going furniture shopping as a class and we want to know roughly how much we'd need to spend at the store to get all of our purchases. It seems daunting at first, but when student success is increasing because of the new approach, it makes it all that more feasible and enjoyable too.
Teaching concepts in our school systems should be set up the same way. Our history, geography and science classes are all about true facts and instances, but our math classes seem to be strict and by-the-book. If math teachers used real-life examples and situations, and created lessons and units on that, students would be much more interested in the material. Granted, not everyone enjoys history, geography or even science, but the enthusiasm for tackling real-life situations is far greater than when the material is just rules or conventions.
We learned in class this week that "the best teachers bring the world into the classroom." Students develop a deeper understanding of the material if they can believe what they are working on. Instead of just doing straight computations for a set of data (trying to add the values), imaging that we are going furniture shopping as a class and we want to know roughly how much we'd need to spend at the store to get all of our purchases. It seems daunting at first, but when student success is increasing because of the new approach, it makes it all that more feasible and enjoyable too.
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Blog # 2 - Math is Everywhere
Math is a part of everything. It is all around us - and we actually use math more in a day than we may believe. Math is involved when we are trying to figure out how much time we have left to get ready in the morning, budgeting our paychecks to pay bills, paying a parking meter and even measuring out detergent to do a load of laundry.
Math isn't just straight computation. It has a lot to do with identifying relationships between one thing and another. Adding things gives us a total, multiplying things tells us how many groups we have, ratios tell us the relationships between one thing and another in a group, and probability gives us the odds of something happening. We see probability on the weather forecast and we decide to bring an umbrella based on the chance of rain. We use ratios when we are baking cupcakes and we need to double or triple, or even half the recipe.
Understanding that math is a part of everyday life is important to instill in our children as young as possible. It is an essential skill that we will use for the rest of our lives, whether we want to or not. It is also important to teach math everyday to our students. There is so much to learn, and not enough time to learn it or practice it!
Math isn't just straight computation. It has a lot to do with identifying relationships between one thing and another. Adding things gives us a total, multiplying things tells us how many groups we have, ratios tell us the relationships between one thing and another in a group, and probability gives us the odds of something happening. We see probability on the weather forecast and we decide to bring an umbrella based on the chance of rain. We use ratios when we are baking cupcakes and we need to double or triple, or even half the recipe.
Understanding that math is a part of everyday life is important to instill in our children as young as possible. It is an essential skill that we will use for the rest of our lives, whether we want to or not. It is also important to teach math everyday to our students. There is so much to learn, and not enough time to learn it or practice it!
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Blog # 1 - Math is a Passion
Mathematics has always been a true passion of mine. I've always been fascinated with the relationships with numbers, and enjoy solving math related logic or puzzle problems in my spare time. I have countless books on my bookshelf to show my love for math. I even fell in love with the high school curriculum; that is when I realized I wanted to teach math.
It is good to be passionate about something and even more so to pursue that passion as a career choice. Working full time in a job you enjoy and are confident in can be very rewarding. I understand the importance of math education and realize that the skill levels of young students may not be where they should be.
My passion is a driving force for me, but as a teacher, may appear as intimidation to my students or other peers. I have subjects that I dislike and have openly expressed that I've disliked them in the past. I understand that math is not a strong subject for everyone - and hopefully I can take my passion for math and teaching to try to improve the attitudes of my students in the future.
It is good to be passionate about something and even more so to pursue that passion as a career choice. Working full time in a job you enjoy and are confident in can be very rewarding. I understand the importance of math education and realize that the skill levels of young students may not be where they should be.
My passion is a driving force for me, but as a teacher, may appear as intimidation to my students or other peers. I have subjects that I dislike and have openly expressed that I've disliked them in the past. I understand that math is not a strong subject for everyone - and hopefully I can take my passion for math and teaching to try to improve the attitudes of my students in the future.
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