New Insights and Their Implications

So far from this class, I have learned a great deal from my peers. I have learned from my peers during the LPU's and from group work and in-class assignments. I have also learned a great deal about making connections from education from my peers. I have learned how others personal experiences have shaped their mathematical understanding and how those can shape my mathematical experiences. From the instructor in this class, I have learned how to go beyond teaching students with an instructional understanding approach and move them to a relational understanding. The instructor of this course has taught me how to teach students not just the how, but the WHY behind mathematics. When we help students understand the why, we are deeming their understanding of the continent. From the readings, I have learned how students learn, and various activities and math experiences that I can use with my students to help the understand the content. I have also learned about CGI and how students need to be given authentic math experiences that provide them with opportunities to use manipulatives, find the answer, and show justification for their process that they choose. This class has taught me that in the past, I have learned a great deal about instructional understanding, but was never given opportunities for relational understanding. The teaching of mathematics in an elementary school classroom is not only important, but essential. It must go beyond the how, and combine with the WHY. The justification process of mathematics is important and gives students that relational understanding.