Knowledge gained

What knowledge have you gained about how children learn mathematics from this course? I have learned that some educators underestimate the abilities of children to solve mathematical problems. Teachers do this by sticking to the material in the book and only assigning worksheets instead of creating a classroom where students are able to really show what they know and the processes they take. To truly learn mathematics, children need to be presented with real life problems and allowed to discover the answers on their own or with classmates or at least attempt them. Too often we are just taught the rule but are not informed of why the rule is the way it is when knowing the reason would have students understand mathematics much more. Every child has the ability to learn, but it is up to the teacher to create material that is pulls students in and has them interacting with the material.