Hello all,
Welcome to my final blog post! This post will highlight some
of the main takeaways that I have learned so far in this course.
Math Mindset Takeaways
Overall, I think what I will take
with me is the importance of a math mindset and that we, as educators, need to
possess this throughout our math journey. I’ve grown a lot teaching math
content throughout my placements; I went from being nervous and unconfident, to
actually having fun and becoming okay with the fact that I may not know
everything and I will make mistakes when I lead my lessons. However, something
I can always control is my attitudes and mindset going into math – it is so important
I show my students the value in math, that making mistakes are not only
accepted but should be embraced and help us grow as learners. I think the most
important aspect I will take with me is that I will aim to create a classroom
climate that supports all student learning in math, and one of my classroom
expectations will be to never judge a peer for sharing their ideas or thinking.
Growing up, I was so afraid of being wrong that I would never share my ideas in
math! I don’t want any of my students to feel this way. Using language that
supports our students thinking (focusing on the process and ideas rather than
if they got the right or wrong answer) will help them to develop the confidence
they need to develop a positive relationship with math. I really took a lot
from the videos that informed students that there aren’t ‘math people’ and ‘non-math
people.’ Math is a skill, just like any other, that needs to be practiced in
order to see results. Just like we practice sports, go to the gym or practice
reading, math takes time and energy to create stronger connections.
Math is about finding patterns –
there are always numerical relationships that can create a pattern. Math is the
science of abstract patterns and helps you to see patterns that exist
everywhere in your everyday life. If we can recognize these relationships, it
actually can help us appreciate and connect math to many other things around
us. For example, math is in nature all the time! When learning math, we can
actually use real-word problems which makes math so much more meaningful and valuable.
We use math in sport every day when we look at relationships and use our spatial
awareness skills. Soccer is all about angles – in order to be a good goalie,
you must understand how these work in order to position yourself properly. I used
to dance, and reflecting back, math was actually used quite a bit. We would
need to know angles (arm and leg positioning), counts, lines, patterns and sequences
to our dance. We also had to have good spatial awareness when moving around
with the rest of the dancers. If we can make these connections and help our
students recognize that they exist, it may help them to value math more.
Instead of asking, “are we going to ever see this in our life?” we can help our
students to make these real-world connections on their own!
Knowing vs. Understanding
Additionally,
the focus on ‘knowing vs. understanding’ really resonated with me because I see
it so prominently in the math classroom. This is an
important concept for teachers to understand when teaching math – there is so
much power in understanding, rather than just knowing. If we simply
give our students the formula or answers that they need, without allowing them
time to figure out why this formula works or is applicable, then they do not
gain anything. However, if they actually are able to conceptualize why the
formula works and how it works, they are able to make
connections across a variety of contexts. Therefore, they can explain and
justify their answers! The ‘Math Daily 3’ was a concept that I learned that I
will use in my classroom going further. I used this in my last placements, and
I thought it was overall very effective because it changed up my lessons and
had students communicating their thinking in various ways. Using a Minds-On
that is low floor, high ceiling and including rich tasks will allow all our
students to participate in math conversations, regardless of ability. Following
this, having students work in partners or share in groups will help to develop
not only their collaboration skills but communication skills as well. There is
so much value in having students participate in rich conversations about math
findings with their peers – this helps them to explain and reason their own thinking
in new ways, but also hear and respond to new thinking they may have not
considered. Finally, having students keep a math journal and reflect on their
findings allows students that consolidation piece to secure any new ideas,
concepts or findings.
Math Intuition
Math
intuition is when students I have a general sense of the math that is being
taught and understand what is being asked. This is a very important concept in
math because we know that in today’s math classrooms, we aren’t teaching our
students to simply memorize concepts and formulas. We want to teach math in a
way that if students forget the formulas, they have enough background
information and understanding to think logically and make sense of why the
formula works. Teaching our students to be able to reason will help them
develop and refine their math skills further. As well, having them recognize
important relationships in math concepts will help them to understand the
essential parts and simplify their learning to the most important overarching
ideas of that concept.
Overall,
I am taking away with me some important concepts that I have used in previous
placements that I will continue to use. I will push myself to step out of my
comfort zone in math, take risks, admit when I am wrong and give my students
opportunities to engage in self-discovery of concepts. Math is no longer being
taught out of a textbook like we were taught and this allows for so many more
opportunities for in depth learning and deeper understanding. Thank you for
following along with this blog and I hope at times it could be beneficial for
your own learning and growth!
Until next time!
Signing off,
Madeleine Campbell
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