Week 2 Reflection
This week a lot of the online material I was reading talked about the importance of understanding mathematical concepts, not just knowing how to use the formulas etc. and portraying that to students, particularly related to problem solving. One particular example I found interesting was a video done by Dr. Deborah Loewenberg Ball from LearnTeachLead. During the video, they go through a simple math problem and how it can be approached as a teacher.
In connection to this line of thinking was an example problem we did in class focused on problem solving. In this question a woman is selling and buying a horse multiple times and we were tasked with determining whether or not she made a profit on the sales. When coming up with solutions, my colleagues were able to come up with several different solutions including ones different from how I had solved the question. It stressed the importance of recognizing the different thought processes that would exist within your classroom and encouraging this discovery instead of demanding only one "correct" solution to solve the problem.
Having students understanding concepts as opposed to simply teaching and students replicating was my favourite part of the week as someone who was taught in latter way a lot of the time. Being able to teach students in a way where they will feel more involved in their learning, and discovering how I am (subjectively easily) able to ensure these students maintain a sense of discovering these concepts on their own, makes me intrigued by how much more I can learn to improve this.
Through my own experiences going through math class, it was interesting to see how much more effective a lot of my teachers could have been. When I was in school, a lot of math classes consisted of most information being given to you right away and upon answering incorrectly, the teacher would simply retell how to do the problem correctly, telling me I was wrong without looking into HOW I was wrong. In this video they talk about figuring out the (incorrect) process the student takes to get their solution. They stress that understanding the line of thinking of your students can help you explain how and why the student got the answer wrong, and inform you of how you may need to adjust your teaching methods to mitigate similar, future errors.
These constructivist concepts are definitely something I will remember to utilize in my own classroom. Having students leaving the room feeling lost is the last thing a teacher wants. Understanding the thought processes of my students not only allows me to help them more effectively when giving guidance, but I can also adjust my teaching style to have a higher proportion of students understand the material from the start. This has always been a more challenging aspect for me as due to my educational history and background, changing my mindset towards learning will take some time. This however, will be one of the biggest steps I can take towards becoming an effective teacher, where students know that an incorrect answer does not mean they have failed in the lesson.
In connection to this line of thinking was an example problem we did in class focused on problem solving. In this question a woman is selling and buying a horse multiple times and we were tasked with determining whether or not she made a profit on the sales. When coming up with solutions, my colleagues were able to come up with several different solutions including ones different from how I had solved the question. It stressed the importance of recognizing the different thought processes that would exist within your classroom and encouraging this discovery instead of demanding only one "correct" solution to solve the problem.
Having students understanding concepts as opposed to simply teaching and students replicating was my favourite part of the week as someone who was taught in latter way a lot of the time. Being able to teach students in a way where they will feel more involved in their learning, and discovering how I am (subjectively easily) able to ensure these students maintain a sense of discovering these concepts on their own, makes me intrigued by how much more I can learn to improve this.
Through my own experiences going through math class, it was interesting to see how much more effective a lot of my teachers could have been. When I was in school, a lot of math classes consisted of most information being given to you right away and upon answering incorrectly, the teacher would simply retell how to do the problem correctly, telling me I was wrong without looking into HOW I was wrong. In this video they talk about figuring out the (incorrect) process the student takes to get their solution. They stress that understanding the line of thinking of your students can help you explain how and why the student got the answer wrong, and inform you of how you may need to adjust your teaching methods to mitigate similar, future errors.
These constructivist concepts are definitely something I will remember to utilize in my own classroom. Having students leaving the room feeling lost is the last thing a teacher wants. Understanding the thought processes of my students not only allows me to help them more effectively when giving guidance, but I can also adjust my teaching style to have a higher proportion of students understand the material from the start. This has always been a more challenging aspect for me as due to my educational history and background, changing my mindset towards learning will take some time. This however, will be one of the biggest steps I can take towards becoming an effective teacher, where students know that an incorrect answer does not mean they have failed in the lesson.
 |
| Sarah Carter. (29 July, 2016). Growth Mindset Mistakes Poster [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://mathequalslove.blogspot.ca/2016/07/growth-mindset-mistakes-poster.html |
Hey Zack,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the horse problem because I felt like the answer was obviously that the women gained $20. But I was intrigued by my groupmates because they each came up with different solutions. Then it got me thinking that math is an interesting subject because there is one right answer but many different ways in achieving it. I remember when I was in high school math class... I just wouldn't understand any of what the teacher was teaching the class until I got home and my stepdad tutored me. He always taught me math from another angle in which I understood. This is important as a teacher to learn the many methods in teaching a subject in order to guide the students along nicely and to ensure you're doing your job right. I believe that a child shouldn't have to go for extra tutoring because the teachers should be able to teach the student one way or another and to try different variations in the lessons to see which one is more suitable for the student.
- Rabia