Math Blog 7

What did I learn?

During class we had many discussions about various aspects of teaching math.  Of the many things that we discussed was the idea of begin frugal in the classroom and doing investigative work to find classroom resources that will help enhance students’ math experience.  For examples, Robin told us about the projectors that she was able to have when the school switched to doc camera and the computers she was able to obtain from small talk with someone whose company was updating their computers.  While this is good to know for new teachers, it is something that all teachers need to consider, not just math teachers. 

Another thing that we talked about was the mathematical teaching cycle:

All lessons need 4 things (Mathematical teaching cycle): 1. What do they know? (Rationale) 2. What do I want them to know?  What kind of math do I want them to know? (Objective) 3. How do I get them there? (Lesson)  4. Did they get there?  (Assessment)

Though we had covered the major concepts in other programs within the program, it was nice to have such a concise explanation of things that teachers need to have in mind.  At this point in the program, it’s nice to know that as long as we know these major things, we do not have to write out the long lesson plans for every single lesson that we teach, saving a lot of time and energy.

In addition to these things, I learned about tinkerplots and wolfram alpha websites.  Tinkerplots would be especially helpful for my main placement, since students are beginning to work with data.

What do I still have questions about?

How can we, as teachers, have the influence on students that math is important and being good at math isn’t a “stigma”, when parents may be influencing students the other way?  Robin had mentioned that some cultures don’t value girls being successful in math, and believe that males should be the ones that we give focus to, but how do we instill the values of math in every student?  Could we be angering parents with our intentions by doing so?

What are the implications for classroom practice?

Of today’s class, I will most likely use the mathematical teaching cycle as a short lesson when planning all of my lessons, not just math.  This is a quick, easy, to the point tool to use to make sure that everything is planned and accounted for.

Another thing I will use with my class is to use tinkerplots, and other tools, for students that are struggling to understand concepts.  This will be a way to differentiate instruction.