From this class I take so much knowledge and I feel more confident not only on how to nurture every students learning styles but I also how I learn as an individual. I have gained confidence regarding teaching math. Math is one of my weakest points in school and it has always been. I was terrified to get into a classroom and teach math, I felt unprepared and not capable to introduce any sort of math. I may not be able to nurture every students learning ability but I feel confident and prepared enough to reach more than 90 percent. I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge in this class and I cannot wait to put it all in practice.

Perceptions of teaching math

How has this course changed or not changed your perceptions of teaching math? I feel more confident about teaching math. When I was in high school all my teachers taught math pretty much the same way. They would do the examples out of the textbook and show them on the chalk board, and then give us an assignment from the textbook or worksheet. There was never an explaination of 'how' or 'why' we solved the problem that way just here it is learn it method. I now know that there are many different ways to teach math to students. It is good for the students to struggle with the material and work on it by themselves to find multiple ways to solve a certain problem. The students may also use (electronic) manipulatives to help them work out the problems intead of just paper and pencil. I will always find exciting, hands-on ways to teach math to my students so they become interested in it!

How has this course changed or not changed your perceptions of teaching math?

This course has definitely changed my perceptions of teaching math. Before taking this class, I always thought that maybe it wouldn't be so hard to teach math to young children. I have now realized that it can be quite the process. There is a huge difference between children understanding math symbolically and children understanding math conceptually. I have learned how important it is to gain a conceptual understanding of math. We need to understand why we do what we do. When I learned math, I learned it the symbolic way. It was easy for me to understand, but I know that will not be the case for all children. Some students will need further instruction when it comes to math and will need to be taught in different ways to fully understand math. I feel as though this class has changed my perception of teaching math in a good way. Sometimes this class was frustrating because I had a difficult time understanding some concepts; but I definitely understand now why the strategies that we did were important. Gaining a conceptual understanding of math and using manipulatives is extremely important and I plan on teaching students math in this way.

How has this course changed or not changed your perception of teaching math?

This course has changed my perception of teaching math in many ways. Before taking this course, I thought the way I was taught math in school was going to be the way I would also teach it to my future students. Until this course, I thought math was about rote memorization, worksheets, and formulas. This is probably why for many people who are not good at memorization do not enjoy math and therefore dread having to teach it. After taking this course, my perception of teaching math has really opened up to the possibilities of making math fun and enjoyable for students. Engaging students in hands-on activities, using manipulatives, working in groups, and having students think about what they are doing and justifying their work are all important concepts I have learned to do when teaching math. Before this course, I was also unaware of the power in using concrete, semi-concrete, and symbolic models were. If using these models helped my grasp a deeper understanding of math concepts then I know teaching it to my students will help them as well. I feel better today about teaching math then I did previous to this class.