New Insights and their Implications

Before this class I knew that the US as a country needed to help and improve our school systems, but I did not realize that we needed as mush help and improvement like we do. Barely touching base on something in math or another subject then trying to move on (expecially when you have to build on it) is hard to accomplish and that is probably one of the reasons we such low test scores and improvement in our classrooms compared to some of the other countries. We need to be diving into deeper meaning in our content. Instead of assigning a lot of problems to a student we should only do a few and pick them apart more than try more problems to review and make sure we have the concept down. Instead of doing a chapter a day we should focus on a chapter a week and make sure the transition from one to the other is clear.

So far in math class I have learned a lot.  I have noticed that I really need to keep up on my work, because I think it would be very easy to fall behind.  I have never been all that good in math class, but maybe this new way that you are going to be teaching us will help me understand things a little better.  I am also kind of confused about that standards I should be using, there are the State and National standards, however you said that one was better then the other.  I want to be the best teacher I can be and I want my future students to have the best education from me.  My goal in this class is to find the best way for them to learn.  

We have been taught about shapes, which was a really fun, but confusing activity.  I did get the hang of it when you explained the activity about scale factors to the class.  One of the examples that I will remember is that, if you have a scale factor of 2 and multiply the variable by 2 squared you get the new area.  When I am reading about all of these concepts in the book it is hard to understand, I am glad that we have a class where there is hands on activities to help me learn better.  I have also learned about many different studies that show how the United States is really far behind from the rest of the world in out test scores.  I think this class will be a challenging but fun class to be in.  

Summary and Synthesis

Personal Concerns and Next Steps

A combination of two topics discussed in class creates an area of concern for me when I think about implementing them in a classroom situation. These two topics are the need for reform in the way we teach math and standards. I have always been a little nervous thinking about how I am going to make sure I cover all the required standards in all the subject areas and make sure that my students are proficient in them. Our class discussion about standards has not made this nervousness any better. I have learned that on top of the state standards, I also have to look at the national standards to make sure I am also covering them. Then we have to add in the fact that the method of teaching math that I am most familiar with through my experience as a student is not the most effective and I will have to learn a new method. So now I am thinking not only do I have to concentrate on meeting the standards, I also have to come up with a new way to teach those standards.

This seems like it could really be a hard thing to do, but I know that it is very important to do it. Thus, I really want to work hard so that I can successfully teach all the state and national standards in an effective method of teaching. I am hoping that the remainder of the class will be able to really help me gain some reformed methods of teaching math as well as help me ease my nervousness with the standards. I also know that I will have to be thinking of ways that I can really organize myself so that I can find a way to effectively monitor the standards that I have covered and the ones that I still need to work on.

Summary and Synthesis

I have felt pretty good about class so far. I am noticing that there is a lot of things about math that I need to touch up on before I try to teach it in the schools. I have never been very good at math and it is a little overwhelming to have so much information at once. I think that this class is going to be good for me because I need to start to understand some more content as well as some effective strategies for helping my students who may struggle with math as I did. I keep thinking that I want to find a way that I can make math better for my students than it was for me. I always dreaded math class and I want my students to feel that they understand what is going on and I hope they can always be open about sharing ideas and suggestions. In all math classes I have had, I have felt that I shoudn't say what I think because I don't want to be wrong. I always thought of math as a right or wrong subject, but I am learning that there isn't always just one right way to solve a problem. Just because the teacher shows one way to solve a problem, that doesn't mean that there isn't another way to solve the same problem to get the same answer. I feel that I have already learned some valuable things in class and I am looking forward to what will come in the future.

-Brianna

Summary and Synthesis

Since my last blog I have learned alot about our new math methods and we should teach them to our future students. I have also learned alot about the different kinds of math standards that we are expected to tie into our curriculum. It is a little confusing with all the standards, and i should tie them all into my curriculum. How do i decide whether or not to use the National, State, or the NCTM's standards. I am very focused on my future and all of these standards are a little imtimidating. It is very helpful though to talk about standards and how to appropriately use them.

We also have been talking about similar shapes. I am going to be honest with you, I was so lost at first, but once figured out the concept of similar shapes the concept was fairly easy to understand. If we were to increase the scale factor by 2, all we would have to do is multiply the variable by 2 squared. The activity that we did in class would be very helpful to use in our classrooms. They are given situations, in which they are able to solve and discover their answers. They are also given a chance to explore and investigate their answers, so hopefully this learning process would eventually go into their long term memory and later in life they can make connections through this activity.

New Insights and Their Implications

What I found out most interesting thus far in our classes, was the fact that the United States is lacking in Mathematics. As such a diverse and advanced nation, it makes me think where we are leading our students in the future. Although, in our class, we are learning about the methods it takes to solve these problems that the United States are facing. For instance, the amount of time the United States has for each problem, compared to Hong Kong or China who take 15 to 20 minutes in just ONE problem. In the United States, we compare with just one to two minutes PER problem. We are learning more about the thinking and discussing part of math right now and how each child needs to investigate more deeply or how we as teachers can help provide a deeper understanding for that specific child.
What I also learned was that we should not only be looking at the South Dakota Standards of Math for our students, but we also need to be looking at the NCTM's standards. By looking at both of these types of standards, we will be teaching better and our students will be learning more math in depth. The NCTM's standards take an in depth look at what our students need to be learning for each standard. This is very informative in the fact that it outlines specific cases and examples of what we SHOULD be teaching our students and is detailed in the account of what each specific standard means. These two standards put together a more detailed look at what needs to be taught and a not so vague look at what each one is presented to be.
All of these insights have implications. They are all implicating that as pre-teachers we need to take a better approach at teaching mathematics in our classrooms. This class will help better our knowledge and teach us methods and strategies of math so that we are able to be the best teachers for our students!

Summary and Synthesis

In Tuesday's class we discussed area, perimeter, and scale factor. At first I thought the activity we did was really confusing but once my group started discussing it, I started to understand it and that made me really excited! I know I learned this information when I was younger but I must have completely forgot about it because at first I didn't have a clue what we were talking about. We discussed that if there are two similar objects and we increase the scale factor of the original object by two then the new area for the larger object is original area times two squared. If we increase the scale factor by 3, the new area is original area times three squared. Therefore, we found that the general rule for area in terms of scale factor is Area x's scale factor squared. I thought the way we did this activity was really beneficial to us students. It was a great hands-on experience; we got to actually use different manipulatives and create the new areas with the shapes. I think this is a much better way of learning the information than just reading about it in a textbook!

New Insights and Their Implications

From the few class meetings we have had, I have learned a lot. From my instructor I am learned more about the constructivist approach, which I did not know very much about. I have also learned about the TIMMS study. I think this did a great job of opening my eyes and realizing how to change some teaching habits that may be to familiar. One such habit is that of trying to teach too many different things. I as a teacher need to spend more time on one topic until it is fully understood. I also have learned about the the National and State standards, from both the text and the instructor. These are extremely important to understand because of their high importance in the classroom and because of NCLB. I have also learned about how to use SENTEO quizzes in the classroom. This tool and technology seems like a great thing to use in the classroom regarding not only Math, but other content areas. I also loved the Virtual Manipulatives. These are great for lots of activities and do a great job of involving the students and using a visual to teach the lesson for students.

One of the main things we have been focusing on in class is regarding how to incorporate the standards and use them in an activity. I think this is important because there are certain things that need to be taught and certain activities students are going to enjoy. It is important for activities to be engaging and fun, yet still possess the necessary information that is taught to students. This class has taught me, already, lots of things regarding teaching practices. I think that if I continue to use the standards, think creatively, and be passionate about my teaching, that I could create a very conducive environment to learn in.

New Insights and Their Implications

I have learned a lot of new information in class already. It is hard to take in everything that we have learned. It seems like there is so much information in such little time. One thing that I learned today in class is the difference between the state content standards and the NCTM standards. The NCTM standards have a lot of detail compared to other standards that are too vague. It was interesting to look at the NCTM standards because they have a goal and expectations. Another thing that I liked about the site is that they list activities that can be used in classrooms. There are links that you can click on to learn more about the activity. I have also learned a variety of things from other members of the class. It is always interesting to learn the different ways in which students learn math. Teaching has changed a lot from when we used to be in elementary school. It may be difficult to learn the new styles of teaching and to be able to use them in my classroom because I will be so used to learning from the old ways.

New Insights and Their Implications

I learned from todays lecture about the SD content standards and National Math Standards. These standards are the important to include in every lesson plan to make sure students are learning not falling behind according to NCLB. I learned today that most teachers focus only on the state standards. I cannot see how they can focus on just that because those standards are so broad. Any activity or assignment could fit under a number of the standards. I think teachers need to focus on the National Standards as well. These standards are much more specific and certian activities can align with these standards. The activity we did in class with the shapes fit under the National Standards and the National Standards were much easier to figure out how the activity relates to each expectation of each standard because the standards were so specific. I thought it was interesting that the National Standards were much more specific than the State Standards because previously I thought the State Standards were more specific.

New Insights and Their Implications

So far in this math class I have learned a lot of new ideas. The idea that has made the biggest impact on me is the use of problem solving to teach math. This method of teaching is entirely new to me. However, it makes a lot of sense, even though right now it is hard to learn because I have never been subjected to it. All the research findings in countries all over the world have shown what an impact teaching using problem solving has on students; it surprises me that the United States hasn't adopted more of the techniques of other countries and is still using most of the old methods of teaching. Also, I had never thought about how, in math classes, the teachers try to cover everything. It makes sense to me now why I struggled so much with math: I barely had time to learn the material before the teacher switched to another topic. I have forgotten so much from my math classes because we never spent enough time on any one subject. By using problem solving to teach mathematics to students, students will be so much more likely to understand the material and remember it, in part because they were involved with the material and had a chance to make connections with it. In math, depth is more important than breadth.

Personal Concern and Next Steps

Thus far, I have found the class quite interesting. However, I do have a couple of concerns. The first one is that the terminology is going to go straight over my head and I am going to be lost all semester. Everything seems so particular, for example from today’s class there are expectations, standards, and focal points. They all so sound so similar to me. My problem solving strategy for this though is quite simple, I need to spend more time focusing on figuring out the differences and if I still do not understand them then I need to talk to someone else and get some extra help. My other concern is that I won’t understand the new style of teaching since I grew up learning the old style mathematics. The only solution I see for this is to simply try as hard as I can and just try to adjust my thinking in a different manner and hopefully learn from the modeling that goes on during the class period. Overall, my concerns are not huge, but I still need to address them soon.
*Amanda