New Insights

Learning about the CGI method for teaching younger students about addition/subtraction and multiplication/division has really helped me to see how we can teach math better starting with the earlier grades and moving up. What CGI has taught me, is that students know math and it is up to us as teachers to work with them on using their knowledge. When giving them a problem for them to work on, we don't say we are doing multiplication today, as that is going to scare some kids. Giving them a story problem that they can draw out or use manipulatives on isn't as scary. After taking about it in class, I got to see that CGI problems are used at St. Agnes here in Vermillion in the kindergarten classroom. They have a math journal that every week each student works on their problem. It isn't "we're learning this today" but a chance for them to work out something on their own without being scared of labeling the problem. And that may be part of the math problem now. With traditional math, we start each lesson by what we are doing for the day, which can scare students before even getting to the problems. It is already too hard for them, and they haven't even tried. We should move away from that, and that is what the reform method is teaching us.

Personal Concerns and Next Steps

As a future teacher I am concerned that I will not teach these concepts correctly to students. This is more about me coming out of my comfort zone, which I don’t mind doing depending on the situation. My main issue is how I will teach my students this method of math when other teachers are still teaching the students the old way, by using the textbook and by the students not solving the problems on their own. My thought is that if I am trying to teach students these concepts how am I to make sure that the students are taking them to next level and ensure that the teachers are also? I think that I will have to find teachers that are familiar with this method or even teachers that have not heard of it and to provide teachers background information on this type of math. I need to get other teachers buy in so that the students are able to expand on this way of thinking and are able to use it year after year. Maybe setting up a math group with other teachers so that we could work as a team in planning our lessons and helping the students scaffold on this learning. I think that this is a great method for students to use when it comes to math so that the students can find their own way of solving the problems which will help to retain the process better and actually take something away from math. Personally, I have gained a new perspective on math and wish that when I was a student that my teachers would have used this method, I think that maybe I would be more comfortable with math and would understand it more.