My "Greatest Learning"

Out of all the courses we did this semester, this was the one I was definitely the most nervous about.  I kept thinking, "what if I mess up an equation in class? Everyone will think I don't understand math. I am so stressed!".  However, this is not at all what happened.  There was no 'being called on' to answer questions, or any pressure of any kind.  Instead, we worked with our colleagues to find solutions to problems we will face as mathematics teachers, and there are many.

One major issue is "what is the right way?".  What is the right way to teach fractions, multiplication, division, geometry, and so on.  What method will students understand best? What gives the best answers?  As future teachers, it is easy to get really wrapped up in this problem because we of course want to be effective teachers.  It is so easy to get so caught up in this that we forget to remember that there are all sorts of acceptable methods.  Each child in your classroom will learn in different ways, some will be visual learners, kinesthetic learners, spatial learners, etc, and it is important to keep this in mind when teaching mathematics.  If one child uses manipulatives, one uses pictorial representations, and another uses an equation, but all three get the same answer, which child is right?  The answer is simple: all three are correct.  If a child can demonstrate how they came to an answer, and they can demonstrate understanding of the topic then they are correct.  

As a young student myself, this was never the case.  There was always one right way, more than likely our teachers preferred way, of doing things.  However, this "one way only" method leaves out a lot of children, and causes a lot of math frustration that is so commonly seen in a classroom.  My "greatest learning" in this course is that I do not want to be that teacher.  I want to be a teacher who shows my class that there are many different approaches to getting solutions, and to give them the resources necessary to find the strategy that works best for them.  Math should be hands on, fun, and meaningful to students, not forced, pressured, and traumatizing.

The approaches I have learned in this course have really shifted my thinking.  I was always only exposed to one way of teaching math, but now I know that there are so many other more meaningful and engaging approaches that I can take to make my own classroom a positive learning environment.  It is not always about getting the right answer and using the right method, it is about gaining the experience and being able to see the mathematics that is around us, and understanding that we all have the knowledge and power to excel in this subject. 

NL Curriculum Resources

On February 25th, our class viewed the mathematics resources for the k-6 Newfoundland and Labrador curriculum.  We viewed these resources in a "stations" set up (a set up that I have seen used effectively in k-6 class on my observation days) where each table was assigned a particular grade and had a variety of resources available for said grade.  

The primary resources were bright, big, colorful, and a pleasure to view and work with. They use minimal text and focus mainly on visuals and keeping the math fun and exciting to its users.  However, I noticed that as the grades progress, the colour and brightness decrease.  Once the resources for elementary came along, there was way more text content, which is completely understandable because they are becoming more skilled readers, but why do the visuals have to disappear? Why can't the older students enjoy the same bright and colorful resources? I know I personally enjoy reading text books with fun activities, and colorful images, so why should older students be deprived of these elements?

The number of resources also decreases as the grades progress.  It appears that the older grades generally just focus on using the textbook, and even though textbooks are a great resource, I feel that there are benefits to using other materials.  Using other activity books, worksheets, games, etc, allows students to learn the objectives in different way, steering them away from the mundane lesson, then text book work at their desks.  It allows them to learn in a different way which helps to keep them motivated and engaged.  Why not keep math fresh and fun like it is in the younger grades? Elementary students deserve to have a good time while learning math too, because that is how they will learn to love and value the subject.

Overall, I really enjoyed looking through these resources.  Going through the education program, it is easy to feel very overwhelmed.  There is so many outcomes we need to meet when we become teachers in just one year, and it is easy to stress out over not getting this done.  It is nice to know that we are not alone in our classrooms, and that there is a wide variety of resources available to us to make meeting these outcomes a little easier.  

YouCubed: Revolutionizing Math

This weeks blog required us to take an in depth look at the YouCubed website, designed to revolutionize the way we approach Mathematics in the classroom.  I believe this site has the potential to be a great resource for primary and elementary teachers when it gets up and running.

While exploring the site I found a few things that I fond really interesting.  One being the article about unlocking students' math potential.  There are some elements of this article that I completely agree with.  For example, students' ideas about their ability determine their math achievement.  It states that some children have a "fixed mindset" where others have a "growth mindset", where those with a growth mindset believe that with hard work anyone has the capability of being smart, and those with a fixed mindset believe some are just born smart and others are not.  I have seen these two views in just the few days I have spent at schools this year alone.  Some children simply do not try in class, and math especially,  because they have a fixed mindset that no matter how hard they work they will still be "dumb" or wrong.  Therefore, it is extremely important that teachers teach in a way that encourages both the growth mindset and the fixed mindset.  We must eliminate this fixed thinking by the elimination of gender differences and the idea of minorities within schools to ensure that all students are getting the best education possible.  Growth mindsets must be communicated to children!

Secondly, it has been proved that students learn through their mistakes.  These mistakes just lead children to figure out different strategies or "entry ways" as explained through the article.  Children need to be kept aware that there are many different ways to get to a certain answer, and that not one of these strategies are more right than the other. 

The last point I really believe in is dissociating speed from math.  When was it ever said that math needed to be done quickly? yet, students everywhere feel the need to rush through their math equations in some form of effort to show how smart they are.  As teachers, it is important to show students that math does not have to be this way.  this speedy way is stressful, can cause anxiety, and makes those who take their time feel inferior.  Math needs to be taught as a thoughtful process, not that the quicker you  are the better you are.  By being in classrooms this year I have seen that look of panic when a teacher says we are moving on and that student is not finished, or if a student gets called on and does not know the answer right away.  For these students, we must communicate the idea that  math is a thoughtful process.  To do so, I feel as though Fast Math and other timed math activities should not be used in the classroom.  It is simply encouraging the myth that the speedier you are at math, the smarter you are.

While I find the layout of the site great, I really like the idea of showing different fun activities that can be done with a class, and the sorts of articles I imagine they'll be posting, I agree with a fellow classmate when I say that the videos can be a tad unrealistic.  The video of all the students being engaged in math around the table is nice, and it does show hoe engaged students can be through math, it is still only a class of seven children who are clearly very proficient in math.  A better idea is to show a more accurate depiction of a classroom where there are strugglers and students with more of a math based anxiety.  The gifted students matter too of course, but as a teacher you will never have a class of just seven gifted students, it is just not realistic.  I am hoping when the site gets up and running they will have a more wide variety of videos taking place in real classrooms, with real students.

Overall, I think the site will definitely have the power to change teacher' approach to teaching mathematics and allow for a lot of students to become part of the growth mindset.  I will definitely refer to this site when I become a teacher myself!

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Last week we watched Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 TED Talk as a class, and I must say that this video truly struck a chord with me.  While the video was thoroughly enjoyable due to his comic elements, he also had such excellent points on our school systems and the lack of creative thinking within them.  He raises the question "are schools killing creativity" and based on his statements this appears to be true!  He made the point that there really is a classic hierarchy of subjects where the Arts are typically ignored and the subjects that are seen as beneficial to work are favored and this is so true...but why?  As we have seen through our development and curriculum courses, students really do learn in a million different ways.  We are each unique and therefore deserve a learning experience that does not just benefit the mathematical and scientific thinkers, but the dancers, the singers, and the artists as well.  I truly believe that schools need to incorporate more of these artistic mediums into their lessons because if not, the creative people that the world needs will not grow and flourish and produce the creative works that we need, and this is a future that I find very troubling.

It is interesting that we were shown this video in a math class as opposed to one of our more Arts related courses.  It got me thinking that even though math has always been seen as one of the serious/challenging/dreaded/intimidating subjects this does not need to be the case.  Where we all learn differently, whether it be visually, spatially, through movement,etc, we need to approach math the same way we approach the arts: with a creativity in mind.  Math does not always need to be lessons, text book problems, tests, quizzes, but can be taught through movement, art, and music.  As a future teacher, it is important for me to keep this in mind when I am teaching math because I want to reach all of my students and keep creativity alive and thriving.

Math Autobiography

Before I begin my math autobiography I would like to give you all a little visual of my primary and elementary self.  Here I am looking real good on my first day of kindergarten...

and now that you have this visual, I will begin.

Growing up I always remember Mathematics being a huge area of the curriculum and having a strong presence in the classroom.  From kindergarten to the sixth grade, the classroom walls were always adorned with multiplication tables, fractions, charts and graphs, number lines, and so on.  The classrooms also always had a math center of sorts, where there would be a designated table or area with extra worksheets and math related activities and games.  These centers, much like our own Math classroom at the university, had helpful mathematical tools such as the ones, tens, and hundreds blocks, geometric shaped blocks, cubes, prisms, calculators, etc.  I always remember liking using these various tools the most during class instruction.  In terms of formal teaching, many of my primary and elementary teachers would teach a particular topic and then we would work individually in our math workbooks for the rest of the period.  However, the classes I remember best were the ones where we would play math games together as a class, such as math bingo for example. 

When thinking about my best and worst memories of mathematics in primary and elementary school, I can honestly say that I have a lot more good memories than bad.  In fact, I can only think of one negative experience.  It happened in grade two and my teacher was calling on people to stand in front of the class and count by twos, threes, fours, and so on.  I remember being so nervous and afraid of being called on because I hadn't quite yet grasped that whole counting concept yet, but of course I was called on to count by threes.  I remember getting up in front of the class and not saying a word.  Everyone just stared at me waiting for me to start but I just couldn't.  I remember feeling really bad about myself and feeling stupid for not understanding the concept.  Looking back on this experience now as an adult I know that I am still afraid of getting up in front of a class and doing something wrong.  Even though making mistakes is a great way to learn, I still have that little nervous grade two girl inside me who is scared of looking dumb in front of my peers.  For this reason alone I am still not the most comfortable for doing math in front of a group.

For the most part, I was always pretty good at math.  My grades were always excellent, I was asked to help other students in my classes, and I was included in enrichment activities provided by the school for mathematics.   However, even though I had all of this positive reinforcement from my teachers I was never one hundred percent confident at math.  It has always been one of those subjects that can be somewhat intimidating at times.

As for my past teachers, their roles were to get the class engaged in the lesson and feeling enthusiastic about learning math.  They were there to support us and encourage us, all while fostering our love for learning.  However, this was not always the case for every teacher.  Some teachers I had were not very enthusiastic in general, but particularly in math.  The class structure was very repetitive with many of my teachers.  She or he would teach the concept, we would work in our workbooks, they would check our work when finished, and then we could do extra work or read, basically anything to keep us from making any noise.  It was very predictable and not very exciting.  However, there were teachers who did show enthusiasm for the subject.  They would play math games, have little competitions that could be done in groups, and just do things to get us up and out of our desks.  These were the teachers that you could tell had a legitimate passion for not just math, but for teaching in general. 

In terms of assessment, from what I can remember, we were graded primarily on class work such as work sheets and activities, quizzes and tests, and participation.  One of the most important things about our assessment was that we were being graded on the process and steps as opposed to just our final answers.  I specifically remember doing large long division problems where simple adding and subtracting errors were common, but even though your answer got a little messed up along the way, you would always still get plenty of marks from having showing and following the right steps in the process.  

In high school I took the recommended math courses, including the "half math" course to help prepare for Memorial's math placement test. I did rather well in these courses and was even asked to participate in the Tutoring for Tuition program where high school students tutor junior high students in mathematics once a week and receive tuition money in return.  This was a program I found very enjoyable and it helped to spark my interest in becoming a teacher.  

In my first term at Memorial I took Math 1090.  This course required me to work harder at math than I ever had in high school.  My dad is an engineer and is excellent at math, so once a week he would help me and my friends with our weekly math assignments to make sure we were truly understanding the concepts.  This was something that was extremely new to me because math always came so easily as i was growing up, so I am really glad I had my dad there to help.  In the end I did fairly well in the course, receiving a final grade of 75.  The next term I decided to do math 1000, however this didn't last long because I dropped the course about a week and a half into the term.  I found the course super overwhelming, and I felt like that nervous grade two student all over again.  The next year i took Math 1051, but unfortunately I had a terrible professor.  He would constantly make comments that our class was stupid, and that if we were by chance doing well it must have been because we cheated.  This only fueled me to prove him wrong and get an A in his course.  I worked on math almost every night, practicing equations, memorizing formulas, writing almost every practice exam available, and in the end I did prove him wrong and i did receive an A in his course, which has by far been my proudest moment to date in university.  It made me feel confident in my math abilities and remind me that if I put my mind to something I can succeed. 

As I am sure most people can say, math is in our day to day lives, whether it be telling the time, figuring out your change for a Tim's coffee, figuring out budgets for groceries, cooking, etc, math is all around us.  In my own life I have had jobs where math is important such as my first job at Wendy's where I had to count out change and make measurements for the food preparation daily.  It is simple activities like these that are so run of the mill that we can sometimes forget that they are even math related.  It is these activities that effect your life in such a major way without you even realizing.   

Math is a subject that can be very rewarding for students, I know it was for me.  There is simply no greater feeling than having that"ah-ha" moment when you finally understand a concept that was challenging to you,  Even though it was never one of my favorite subjects, and still isn't, I know all the benefits there is to having a solid background in math.  Math is a subject that you will use your whole life, almost everyday.  It is important for us as future teachers to really understand the math we teach and be confident in ourselves.  Students truly do notice and appreciate enthusiasm in their teachers and will feed off this positivity and allow them to be excited about learning math.  

Welcome!

Hey everyone! 

My name is Courtney and I am an Education student at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.  This blog is for my Mathematics course and will consist of reflections, activities, and other various entries all related to teaching Mathematics in the Primary and Elementary school system.

Hope you all enjoy!