Mistakes...
Week 3
We are now approaching the midway point, and with that being said, I have learned one of the most significant life lesson to use towards my future students. This week was all about different learning styles and making mistakes in math. One topic that was brought up in class was the idea of different learning styles. This notion was first brought to my attention when I was in elementary school as my teachers would make the class do a test to see what our learning style was. Ever since then, I had it set in my mind that the only way I would learn best is visual. Rewind years after, in class this week we talked about that idea and that we have to steer away from the thought that our learning style is the only way we would learn. But the idea behind it is that our learning style is how we learn easiest. With students, we need to cater to all learning styles and incorporate all the senses for students to retain the content that we are teaching them. By engaging all the sense, there is a high chance that the students will remember something from the lesson by memory recall.
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| Image by Punk Learning. [http://punklearning.com/blog/149660/do-learning-styles-really-exist] |
The second big learning idea that was brought in our online section was the idea of making mistakes in math. I learned that it is good to make mistakes in math because you are enabling your brain to grow. By getting the answers right, you are not challenging your brain, therefore, strengthening your brain neurons.
When you enable your brain to struggle, you are working your brain just as you would when you workout and strengthen your muscles. It is encouraging to make mistakes and struggle not only for brain growth but to see that there are different creative ways to solve math problems. Students need to realize that success is built on failed success and that getting things right all the time is not reality. Making mistakes and learning new strategies is much more effective and empowering for student success than getting the answers right all the time. In order to get outside of the bubble, students should first try ideas that would seem wild to others, feel comfortable being wrong, become open to new experiences and willing to challenge traditional ideas. Once you instil those practices onto your students, you are teaching your students habits that will bring them success in their future as they are adapting a growth mindset.
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| Image by Tang Institute. [http://tanginstitute.andover.edu/fostering-growth-mindset]. |
Factors
Week 2
We later learned the importance of making sense of math problems. This is a point that I would like to stress as it never actually crossed my mind. Yet, some students maybe approaching a math problem without even understanding what it is that they are doing regarding the application. Educators need to be aware of this and teach students the difference between knowing/doing vs. understanding math meaning. While reading, Paying Attention to Mathematics Education K-12, on pg. 4, they mention "All educators – classroom teachers, early childhood educators, school principals and other instructional leaders in the education system – use a variety of critical thinking and problem-solving strategies to engage all students in making connections between content and process as they work toward a thorough understanding of mathematics." Students knowledge will shift from being procedural to conceptual knowledge (which we all know, gets imprinted in our memory).
This week in class, we are setting the stage for some high quality work! We not only started getting ideas for our unit plans but learned how to start a webinar! Be sure to check in later on in the month for that...it will be very informative!
On the other hand, this weeks class brought forth some memorable points that I would love to share with you all. I have to say before this class, I did not connect math with card tricks, but after our professor, Mina showed us yet another trick, I knew I wanted to include those in my repertoire. The card trick taught us the important lesson of the multiples of 9. Having gone through the experience, I am sure to keep that in my memory!
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| By Ash Artistry |
With that being said, there is something important to get clear, and that is math can be creative. There are many different ways that people can view math and arrive at an answer. Everyone has their own take and conceptualizes/ views a math problem differently, this was brought to our attention in class during a video.
As someone with an art background, I can relate to this experience and apply it to math, seeing the beauty in it. Before having this brought to my attention, I did not think that there were multiple ways to arrive at the same answer. The mathematician needs to be creative in seeing that there are other solutions other than the usual route. Which I found to be so captivating and made me have a better appreciation towards mathematics.
As someone with an art background, I can relate to this experience and apply it to math, seeing the beauty in it. Before having this brought to my attention, I did not think that there were multiple ways to arrive at the same answer. The mathematician needs to be creative in seeing that there are other solutions other than the usual route. Which I found to be so captivating and made me have a better appreciation towards mathematics.
My last point is a teaching activity that I think you will find very useful when teaching math. It is.... jeopardy! I had such a fun time playing this in class as it turned learning into gamification. It did not feel like we were just solving math problems. As a teaching strategy, you can use this as either a form of diagnostic to see where the children are at, a mid-term review or even as a pre-test review.
I hope you enjoyed today's post and plan on implementing some of the activities and strategies mentioned. Enjoy!
Welcome to Math Part 2!
Week 1
This past week has been very informative as I go back into the swing of back to school mode. Although some time has passed since our first class, I can honestly say that what we have learned that day will stick with me. Our instructor, Mina Sedaghat Jou, had an interesting approach to teaching us meaningful lessons.
As the class began, we started off with a magic trick, which led to the class practicing it in groups. Trying to replicate the trick, some groups began to give up, while others got the trick on their first try! After it was all done, Mina stressed out the importance of wording and how she started her magic trick by saying it was very simple. Because of that, the groups, including ourselves, were stuck on the fact that it was a simple trick and we should be able to do it. Once she had said that, I felt as though a little bulb had flicked on in my mind. As teachers, we may not realize how much wording can affect a child when it comes to their learning. A child may feel dumb or give up when they are told that a math problem is simple, yet they are struggling. They can internalize that moment of being down and blame it on themselves instead of seeing it as a struggle that they can learn from. With that, I felt it was suited to post the image below as an illustration teachers can post in their classroom for students to see and uplift their spirits.
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| Image by Creative Teaching Press. [http://www.creativeteaching.com/product/mistakes-are-proof-inspire-u-poster]
The second lesson I wanted to share with you all came from a video we watched in the class called "Ever Wonder What They'd Notice?" by Annie Fetter (which can be found on YouTube). The key take aways I learned was instead of telling students the answer, ask them "what do you notice?" "What do you think you should do next?"
By asking students these questions, we are challenging them to think of the solution, think critically and making them in charge of their learning by coming up with the next steps. This kind of thinking follows the Ontario Math Curriculum which states on page 3, math "requires individuals who are able to think critically about complex issues, analyze and adapt to new situations, solve problems of various kinds, and communicate their thinking effectively. The study of mathematics equips students with knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that are essential for successful and rewarding participation in such a society." This kind of questioning can be applied to our student's life skills, as we are making them think outside of the box and essentially, think for themselves. Students have such a creative mind, and as educators, we should be the ones to release that creativity and mold our future citizens to become innovative and critical thinkers. |
Blog Post 11
Final Reflection
It is the last week for math class, and overall I am very pleased with the course. It is not what I was expecting, and I found this course to give me a lot of resources for teaching math. I do feel a lot more confident now when it comes to teaching math during my placement.
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| Online Image. Sourced from: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/2014/03/13/teaching-math-under-common-core-fact-and-fiction-part-v/ |
One of the most helpful things we did during this class was the presentations as it gave me a lot of ideas and activities to do during my placement. As I mentioned in my last post, learning about assessment strategies specifically for math was very helpful as it made assessments fun being targeted for one subject. I am leaving the class with a lot of new activities and resources to help make math fun and engaging for students.
Who knew that math can be fun!
Until next time readers!
Who knew that math can be fun!
Until next time readers!
Blog Post 10
Let us talk about assessments
In today's class, we had a great lesson on creating assessments for math. There are many different forms of assessment when it comes to evaluation students. The needs of each of them need to be taken into consideration in order for them to display their learning to the teacher. But in the end, the real test will be during our teaching block, as we implement all that we have learned in the classroom. There is no way right way to evaluate a student until you are there and understand how it is that they demonstrate their learning.
Here is an image on some strategies for assessment when dealing with math.
Some of the strategies listed are:
-problem of the day
- think-pair-share
-chain notes
-gallery walks
-follow up questions
- KWL chart
- check list
-application cards
I hope you enjoyed some strategies for assessing math in your classroom.
Until next time readers!
Blog Post 9
On this week's agenda, Lesson Planning.
The past few weeks have been flying by as I have been working away on lesson plans for my placement in December. Lately, in class, we have been learning the skill of lesson planning!
I have been looking forward to lesson planning, and now that we started, oh boy is there so much more to it than expected! In the past, I have had experience with putting curriculums together but nothing to this extent. From what I have noticed, there is a lot of creativity behind each lesson to make it engaging and have a unique experience for the students.
So far my favorite part of lesson planning is coming up with the activity for the students to do. My mind starts thinking of ideas the same way I would when I am creating artwork. At times, I find I need to scale down the creativity because I need to make the lesson attainable and within the time frame.
The process itself seems pretty repetitive, so I feel within a couple of months I should be somewhat of a pro at it!
In math class, we had to create a three-part lesson plan due next week. My group members and I have been working away on the lesson, and I am glad to say that we completed it a week early.
Our lesson plan is about measurement and distance. We applied the concept to the Bruce Trail in Niagara. Mostly, the students would measure the distance that someone would hike the trail. My group members and I loved the idea of relating the lesson to an actual path that the students could go on.
Now that I am done with the math lesson plan, on to the next one...literacy that is!
Until next time readers!
Blog Post 8
Presentations and more presentations!
Hello readers, I must say these past few weeks have been flying by! Before I know it, the semester will be over, and I will be full time getting hands on experience teaching.
As I am prepping myself to be in the classroom full time for my placement, I started gathering activities and teaching strategies that I have learned in my classes. In math, I will be putting in place all the fun activities that I am collecting from the presentations and discussion forums.
Now you're probably wondering what this discussion forum is since this is the first time I am mentioning it to you. Well, my reader, the discussion forums are places where we post math problems and games that we have found online and tie it into the curriculum. As you can see, I have a lot of resources now when it comes to math! Thank you, Ms. Bunz.
Reflecting back in class, everyone has been doing such an incredible job. I find it interesting to see all the different teaching styles that my classmates have when it comes to the presentations. I am really enjoying the experience. Now I will leave you with pictures from the presentation and a little boat drawing done by graphing. Enjoy!
Until next time readers.
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| Image taken in class. Math presentation. |
Now you're probably wondering what this discussion forum is since this is the first time I am mentioning it to you. Well, my reader, the discussion forums are places where we post math problems and games that we have found online and tie it into the curriculum. As you can see, I have a lot of resources now when it comes to math! Thank you, Ms. Bunz.
Reflecting back in class, everyone has been doing such an incredible job. I find it interesting to see all the different teaching styles that my classmates have when it comes to the presentations. I am really enjoying the experience. Now I will leave you with pictures from the presentation and a little boat drawing done by graphing. Enjoy!
Until next time readers.
Blog Post 7
G.O.A.T - Greatest of All time |
| Image Sourced from Daily Mail |
Yes, my readers, I called you guys all goats, that is ... the Greatest Of All Time! This week's presentations were unexpected and indeed fun.
As nerve-wracking as the presentations are to present, they are so enjoyable to watch as someone in the audience. My classmates are setting the bar up high and coming up with engaging activities to do with the children.
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| Image sourced from the Innovative Instructor |
As a new student teacher, I am creating an array of activities to do with my kids once I get into the classroom because of all the presentations.
I am learning a lot from my classmates as well. Having everyone present in my math class ables me to see the different dynamic and teaching styles my peers have. The experience gives me a different perspective and insight into teaching, since, in my prior years, I have only seen my teachers growing up and my style.
But overall, now that we are learning about vital information for our classroom such as lesson planning, I am so excited to start teaching. There is so much more to teaching that I wasn't aware of and back end work that a teacher must complete for the day to run by smoothly. This whole experience is a learning opportunity, and I am absorbing it all!
Thank you for tuning in, until next time readers!
Blog Post 6
My fellow readers...
The time has come, or should I say the time passed that I gave my presentation in math class on PERCENTAGES % !!! I have to admit the presentation wasn't that bad once I got in front of the classroom and started giving my lesson. My nerves went away, and I began to get into my element.
There was a lot of preparation though leading up to the presentation and a lot of reviewing the material, so I knew what I was teaching, the last thing I wanted was not to know the answer to a question while I was teaching.
My lesson was done using PowToon because I wanted something that was engaging and fun. I feel that when teaching such a dense subject like math, it needs to be engaging and interest the senses of the students.
On the left is my worksheet that I gave to the class for them to work on once my lesson was complete. I wanted to go with something that was interactive and had an artistic component, which was coloring in this case. I also made sure to have included the instructions and all my expectations on the sheet so that the students knew exactly what they had to do.
Here is some of the prep and the materials that the students needed for completing the worksheet.
I wanted the lesson to become more of an experience, and therefore I chose to label the group tables just to make it a bit more fun and because I had the Greek names stuck in my head for a month! Overall I am glad that the presentation is done, but also that I was able to do something like this in the classroom. I feel as though it was a form of validation that I am capable of teaching a subject that I am not that great at.
Well, until next time readers!
Thank you for tuning in.
Blog Post 5
Let the good times roll!!
My classmates are doing such a good job so far with our in-class presentations. The activities have been engaging, and I am learning so much from my classmates.
I like how tactic the activities have been and how much we are using manipulatives. It has taught me that you can use pretty much anything to aid a student in learning. It all comes down to creativity. From this experience, I have my list of dos and don ts for this presentation I have to do the Friday coming up.
Currently, I am developing my handout for the classroom and reading up on the chapter... so much to do! But not to worry, I will keep you guys updated on my next post with what I ended up doing :)
I wanted to share with you guys I few pictures I took in a class of the manipulatives so you guys can get a visual, until next time readers!
Blog Post 4
Fractions, fractions, and decimals!
This week I left class feeling like I learned a lot. =)
This week's and for the rest of October, we are working on Number sense and the numeration strand in the math curriculum. I like how insightful the presentations have been, and I am building an excellent resource page for math activities to do with the children.
One activity that stuck with me was our last activity given to us by our teacher, a Trained. Or at least that's the website you can make the game.
The concept of the activity is to try and match up the fractions so that they are equivalent. But the catch is that you need to make triangle shapes fit into a hexagon.
Underneath I have pictures to show you how my partner and I did! As you can see...we did not finish, but we were persistent! I hope you enjoyed the activity =)
Until next time readers!
Blog Post 3
This week was the start of our presentations about a math activity found in the textbook. I was relieved to find out that the presentations only had to be 10 minutes long. While watching the three presenters this week, it made me think about how I would go about with my presentation.
As a visual learner, I want to engage my classmates with some great visuals. I thought about using Powtoon to introduce my subject in a visual format.
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| Image from Powtoon |
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| Image from Powtoon |
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| Image from www.shop.whiterabbitjapan.com |
Currently, I am in the works of reading the chapter and developing the class activity. I'll keep you posted with my final result and how it all went!
Until next time readers!
Blog Post 2
Let's Talk Math Activities
What an interesting day... I have been in the Teacher Education program for three weeks now, and I have to say, I have learned so many unique activities to incorporate into the classroom.
I am gonna share some of my knowledge with you to help your math class become more creative and interactive!
My math teacher Rebecca Bunz showed us this activity; it's called the Settler Game. Essentially, students will solve the math problems and cross off their answer in the box. Any numbers left over are added to the boxes at the bottom and then added to come up with your final answer.
Similar to the Settler Game, you can play Math Bingo with your students. You can have a bingo card and instead of having just the numbers placed on the card, have it be math equations that your students will need to solve to find out what the number is. A prize for the winner and all participants can be a nice touch at the end of the game!
My last activity for today's post is Group Work and a Gallery Walk, (we did this one in my math class with Rebecca Bunz as well)! You will be surprised how much group work comes in handy for young learners. Having students work in groups is a great way for students to come up with solutions to problems together. I am not the best student when it comes to math but working in small groups helps me out a lot because I have other minds to help me along the way.
Start off by giving your students a math equation to work on together in their small group on chart paper. Once the students complete their problem, have each group post their solution on the wall. Have all the students walk around and observe each other's findings. After, have a group discussion! Voila =)
Until next time readers!
Blog Post 1
September 9th was my first day of math class. I have to admit; math is not my forte and having done the math refresher course over the summer well... I need a lot of work.
But once I walked out of the class I left thinking, I will be a great well-rounded educator. Why might you ask? I feel as though through my struggles with math, I will be able to communicate to my future students and understand their struggles.
As for now, I am nervous for what's to come but excited all at the same time. Let me leave you with a few images that say exactly what I was feeling, enjoy!
Until next time readers!
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