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?

I came into this class thinking it would be another methods class where we learn mostly content and little method. What I got on the first day of class was therefore surprising. We are spending some of our time on content, but only in the respect of how we should have our students complete the same tasks that we are completing.

This class was definately new and interesting. We are never given the answer but challenged to figure it out. While this can be hard and frustrating in the end it is worth it because we have found the answer and made, hopefully, a lasting connection. In doing this, I realize how important it is not only for my students to understand the material, but also for them to make a connection with whatever we are learning. While students can complete assignments if they are simply given an explanation and then handed a worksheet, they will most likely not retain that information.