New insights and their implications

I have learned that everyone solves problems in different ways; even in our classroom. Each of us solve different problems in different ways. I have learned that as a teacher I need to be open to the idea that my students will all learn in different ways. I need to be able to accept that and learn how to teach them. I have learned many different ways to teach math and to assess it.

New Insights & Implications
I still find myself struggling in the class to grasp the idea of how to teach the way Prof. Reins teaches.  I can get the concept of learning a new way, but sometimes I don't get how we came to get an answer.  It is starting to sink in little by little, but I think that it may take longer for me to understand fully how to grasp teaching math in a way that students will understand it.  It will be difficult to teach in the areas that I continue to struggle in, but I'm sure that there will be someone to give me more help along the way.
Like Emily said in her post, when the answer is given to me I have an easier time understanding the problem or if someone explains it to me in simpler terms and jargon that I understand, then it isn't so confusing to me.  So far I have learned a lot and hope I can continue to do so.

New Insights and Their Implications

I learned a lot from the house project where we needed to determine how much paint was needed. It was interesting to try to figure out the answers based off of ideas from group members, how I would have done it on my own, and how students would look at it if I presented it as a teacher. I liked the idea, that someone mentioned in class, that students could take their own photos around the school so they would have their own angles to work with. Students can then see the real-life situation that they would need to know the formulas for areas of different shapes.

New Insights and Their Implications

Since I decided to major in education, and more recently during our class periods, I've been concerned that I won't be able to give my students a quality math experience, or the experiences that they need. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I understand math, and I like math. Although I'm nowhere near perfect at it and it does take some work, it usually clicks fairly quickly for me. I'm concerned that because of this, I won't be able to help the students who need it. I don't know if I'll be able to explain the concepts to them, when they don't get it the first or second time.I'm not sure I'll have an answer to this until I get into a school and experience it.

Summary and Synthesis

After today's class period, I have come to the realization that no matter how much I think I understand something, I never really do until the answer is given. It is easier for me, and I'm sure a lot of other people, to understand a concept when you are able to work backwards after given the answer. I know that fully defeats the purpose of everything being taught in the class so far, but today I just could not understand how 1/3 of a cup could make half of the batch when 2/3 cup was said to make a full batch. Although Shari had tried to explain it, I just could not understand it right away until I thought about it for awhile. I wish things were easier and I could just get it quickly, but that hasn't been the case with almost every topic we've covered. I guess my biggest issues that I am most concerned with at this point and with the experiences I've had in this class are thinking of ways to teach using this approach, even if I don't understand it fully myself. It's very difficult sitting in class and thinking I understand the concepts being taught then struggling to do the homework outside of class. I'm not sure why I'm finding this class as challenging as I am, but I want to fully understand what is being taught and how to teach it well in a way for my students to develop the deepest understanding. I hope my struggles, in turn, make me a good teacher so that I can help those students who face these similar challenges.