New Insights and Their implications

I feel that I have found myself really learning about some new methods of teaching in this course. I feel that I have maybe been a little sheltered in my previous math instruction in elementary, middle and even high school and college. I feel that a lot of the methods of instruction that I have been exposed to have been very traditional and "one way". I am beginning to see that if I could start over in my math experiences, I would have had a lot better chance in success if I could think through processes on my own without having someone telling me the "one way" to complete the problem. I feel as if I am finding different and better ways to help my students gain understanding without shoving a process down their throat. Even in class periods, I have found myself learning and better grasping concepts by hearing other people's perspectives on the topics. It helps me to work through a process myself before someone tells me their process. I find that if I even see someone else's process first, it impacts and skews my perceptions of the problem and further complicates it for me. I found the videos from the book with the children working through math processes very interesting and helpful also. I realized how great and empowering this method of instruction can be for students. They have a sense of accomplishment and success after figuring out a process on their own. Also, from seeing other people's perspectives, they can change how they are thinking in a slow process to move further in their learning. I feel that our instructor has also been taking a positive role in the classroom, as he is implimenting the methods with us as a class without always directly teaching it. The examples provided from the instructor are helpful, but it is also helpful to work through processes in our own ways to be first hand learners of the method we should be implementing in our future students.

Questions and Answers

I had many questions when this course first began. How will this class help me teach math in my own classroom? How is the constructivist method used in mathematics? Is using the constructivist method really beneficil to students' learning? So far, I have found some, but I believe not necessarily complete, answers to these questions. I have learned a lot in this class about how to teach math. I have also learned a lot about the constructivist method. I can admit that I did not know very much about the constructivist method before taking this class. I have found that it could be beneficial to the student to take some of their learning into their own hands. Trial and error can be a very good learning process for students.

Summary and Synthesis

In my last blog, I discussed the importance of using a constructivist approach when teaching mathematics. In the last couple of class periods, we have begun to learn about Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). From our discussion in class and from reading our text on CGI, I have become very interesting in the CGI approach. I think that it is a neat way to approach teaching mathematics and can get students thinking deeper than you would expect them to. I can really see myself implementing some CGI instruction in my future classrooms. I don’t think that I could use it as a main form of instruction, but I do think that it would be a great thing to do one day a week or at least once every couple of weeks. I also think that the CGI would fit nicely into a constructivist based classroom. I really feel that these ideas that we are learning about deserve some consideration when planning instruction. They are very different from the traditional approaches that we are use to, but I have questioned the effectiveness of the instruction that I have received through the years. Thus when I am out in the field, I am going to try to incorporate the things that we have learned in this class. I know that this may not be easy, but I am up for the challenge.

Personal Concerns and Next Steps

I have some personal concerns about they way to use the constructivism approach in the classroom. This is a hard considering in the past I was taught to find the "right" answer. I do have some concerns with finding what is a good manipulative to use in the classroom considering that some of the mainpulatives that I grew up using weren't the best tool for learning. This approach does make sense in teaching math and gives students the chance to figure out the problems than rather having the answer given to them. For the next steps in my classroom I want to try and use the constructivism approach in my classroom so my students can actually learn for themselves. I think if I have a few lesson plans that are more toward this way I will have a good start. I want to find appropriate manipulatives that can help my students have more of a visual concept and understanding of a math idea.

New Insights and their implications

It is very interesting to learn new methods of teaching students. It is very hard for me to understand some of those methods, and try to think outside of the box. It is very hard for me to think outside of the box, and I will be the first to admit it. I was raised in small schools , where we were taught very traditional ways of teaching. I grew up in a small town of South Shore, and Clear Lake, South Dakota, and I do not honestly remember engaging in mathematics like they way are learning to teach our students. I do not remember doing alot of group work, or any activities that actively engaged us in our math assignments or activities. I remember doing alot of worksheets. It will be interesting to see when i am student teaching and teaching in my small school district, if i will use my old ways or if I can be able to think outside of the box and use these new methods we are learning this semester. I can definitely see my self using the different types of blocks to help teach addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. keep up the good work!

Personal Concerns

I feel as though the class is getting better. The class itself is becoming a little bit easier to understand. I think the sometimes the directions aren't all the clear, but I feel very comfortable with going to Dr. Reins office and discussing any type of concern with him before it overwhelming. I only concern I have is time management. It is really hard to make sure that everything gets done for this class along with any other class. Also I woory about being able to understand the tpoics because it soed take me quite a bit longer to get some of the simplest terms and methods.