personal concerns...

Throughout this semester so far there have been different ways to think and understand this subject. I get frustrated pretty easy when I don't fully understand something and I have been on a rollercoaster of frustration and confusion. I try to cope with all the new learning strategies and fit them into everyday situations. This class is definitely different than any other math class previously taken. It is good to accept a challenge and work at it, but when I continue to try and don't grasp a concept, I get frustrated with myself and find myself stopping at what i'm doing and coming back to it to make sense or just leave it all together. I need to be a little more patient and look outside the box to find the answers, sometimes this is difficult for me.

New Insights and Their Implications - Blog #2

Throughout the last month of class, I have learned many valuable lessons. I believe the module and lesson on geoboards and area of a polygon were the most beneficial activities. I found it challenging to try to formulate different methods for solving the area of a polygon. During this activity, I learned how to cooperate with peers in order to solve more of the difficult problem. When we brought the worksheets back to the classroom, I realized how students could use several different methods to solve an area of various polygons. Even though I was able to view the different methods/strategies my colleagues and the professor used to solve the same problems, I understood my method best.
After completing this specific activity, readings, and modules, I realized that students can learn how to solve problems in various ways. I will use this information and carry it into my future teaching. I believe it is important to allow students the opportunity to show their method/strategy for solving a problem. In addition, I realized that I learned best by using my own method to solve these problems. I have concluded that students will learn best by using their own methods to solve problems. In my future teaching, I will give students problems and ask each student to come up with a method of solving. Even though I struggled through this activity, I believe I learned much more. In conclusion, I believe students will learn a concept more thoroughly if they apply their own ideas to finding the solution.

Personal Concerns and Next Steps- Blog 2

Math has always been extremely difficult for me and this class is a challenge too. It is difficult to look at math in a different way when I have been doing math one way for so long especially when I struggle with the way I was taught. I do believe that teachers who struggle with a concept and then finally understand it are going to be able to teach the students well. I think that teachers who struggle will teach the concepts to the students well and be able to help them with their problems. I know that it will take more than just this class to understand this type of math especially when I still have problems understanding the old way to do math.