New Insights & Theri Implications

New Insights and Their Implications - What did you learn from your peers, from the instructor, and/or the readings, about elementary school students, and/or about yourself, and the teaching and learning of math and what are their implications to teaching and learning mathematics?

Mathematics has never been an easy subject for myself. Since this class has started I have taken a different outlook on mathematics. I have learned that there are many ways to arrive at an answer and that each way is beneficial to the learner, if she/he can give an explanation at how they arrived at the answer. I have learned that some of the reasons I fear mathematics is because of the way I was taught at an early age. Having a math teacher who is good at his/her job is so important because in mathematics one concept builds upon others and if you are not understanding a concept you may need the additional help from the teacher. I remember there were times when I was in junior high and the teacher didn't get as far as he/she had hoped and that teacher would blow through the material like it was nothing. It was brutal and I didn't like it all. I felt like my learning was suffering because I didn't have the time to practice the material and the material was not presented in a learn able manner for me. I was a visual and hands on learner. When it came to math I needed lots of practice. I was accountable for learning the material if I didn't understand it. I would occasionally go in for help, but this did not work at all times. I believe this is where I started to fear mathematics. I knew later down the line, math would become harder and that there was nothing I could do, but relearn concepts from earlier years. This scared me. Integrating mathematics into a classroom is very important. Students need lots of hands on learning and ways to make the material relevant to their own life. The teacher needs to differentiate his/her instruction to meet all the needs that exist within a classroom. Mathematics can be fun and less intimidating if the teacher is good at her/her profession and allows for his/her students to learn alternative routes to an answer. Problem solving on your own can be very effective in learning how to think on your own and solve on your own. Math takes time and lots of practice.

New Insights and Their Implications

I had originally thought that there was only one way to teach mathematics, by giving formulas and showing students how to work through them. That was the way that I was taught by almost every math teacher I had from K-12 and into college. After starting this course, I now see that there are more sophisticated ways of teaching mathematics to students. We have learned in all of our education courses that children learn best through hands-on experiences and when they are given some ownership over their own learning. These learning theories have been long-standing foundations in the education field, so why are we so hesitant to give students ownership of their learning in mathematics? I think many teachers are afraid of the loss of control and the increased effort in planning it takes to allow a completely student-centered classroom. The implications of this new insight are that I am going to have to put in a lot more effort when designing my math lessons, but the benefits for my students will far outweigh the effort. If I can apply the concepts we have learned thus far and challenge my students to be problem solvers and creative thinkers, I will spend a lot less time covering the basics and reviewing and be able to take my students' level of thinking higher.