New Insights and Their Implications

From only being in this class for three weeks, I have already learned some very important points for teaching and learning math. I have learned that students need to struggle in order to succeed. If the teacher is too helpful to the students they may never fully understand the process needed to solve the problem they are faced with. Students want the teacher to tell them if they are doing a problem right, but the teacher should not give them a definite yes or no answer, but ask them, "are you doing it right?" Students need to think about the steps they are taking and ask themselves why they are making the decisions they are to find the answer. This will help them catch their own mistakes and make their learning more meaningful. Teachers need to model good problem solving skills by showing their own thought process aloud to the students, this will help them to think about their own thinking. From the scale factor activity I did struggle quite a bit, but after working and discussing with my group members we were able to talk out and contemplate what we thought we needed to do. This really helped better my understanding. Having the shapes in front of me was also helpful because we were able to work hands-on and strategize with them. I have also learned about choosing the right standards for my lessons and thinking deeply about what each standard is really aiming at for the students to learn.