Stage 6 Reflection

Retrieved October 22nd From: SandraRief.com

As teachers and past students ourselves, I think we all know one of the biggest challenges teachers face in math is the dreaded "I'm never going to use/need this". This is one of the most common struggles, I personally believe, that we face as teachers. Students become disengaged when they can't see or understand how they might use something in life.

This week, we had the opportunity to look into some applications of mathematics in real life. I believe that it is our responsibility to instil a growth mindset in our students, and to help them understand that they may not need to know a specific formula at any particular point in their life, however that math intuition is extremely important.

If you can take a minute to watch this video, it is one of the many I watched this week regarding mathematical applications in real life.  I don't personally know much about the Fibonacci Spiral, however by watching this video, I was able to expand my knowledge. I also had the opportunity to watch a video about Dolphins using math to communicate amongst themselves, how neat, right?

I believe by showing students that math is used in many different ways, it will help them go beyond their comfort zone, especially if we can relate it to animals, because it proves that mathematics are used in all aspects of living.

Thanks for reading!

Stage 5 Reflection: Memorization vs. Big Ideas

Memorizing vs. Understanding

Retrieved October 16th 2017 from: The Peak Performance Center 

We are back to the grind this week after our reading week...I have spent quite a bit of time this week getting caught up and trying to get myself prepared in advance for the weeks to come . I spent a bit of time this week doing my online modules, which included watching a video regarding the differences between memorization versus actually retaining/learning information. You can find the video here if you'd like to watch it. 

After watching this, I took it upon myself to do some additional research to see if there was more benefit to one than the other. I came across a blog on The Peak Performance Center's page that breaks down memorization vs. understanding . I came to the conclusion based on my findings, that learning and understanding a concept is more beneficial than simply memorizing steps. Now how could the be implied in a mathematics class? Many students spend a lot of time believing that if they memorize a formula or the steps required to answer a question, they will pass their test or get all the right answer, etc. However, when you memorize something, your brain will only allow you to retain the information for a certain length of time. Once you no longer "need" this information, it will be purged, and this is not an effective way to make your way through mathematics. If we are able to learn the big ideas of a concept, we will have better chances of being able to come to an answer, even if it is not the right one, being able to justify logically what you think the answer might be, is a quality known to having learned a concept. 

As a student, I personally preferred the memorization method, as I figured that if I could memorize the strategy or formula needed, I would be able to find answers. However, I believe this is why I ultimately struggled with math, as I could not always find the answers, and rarely was able to justify a logical answer. 

As a future teacher, I look forward to having the opportunity to coax and encourage my students into having conversations to learn from each other, instead of simply providing them with material and information. I believe that it is necessary for students to communicate with one another and beneficial for them to see their teachers model certain ways of learning. By encouraging this type of learning, I believe that ultimately, it will also help me strengthen my math skills in the future as well. 

Thanks for reading! 

Week 4 Reflection

Let's talk about rich tasks! 

As we finish off week four, I know right, WEEK 4! How is that possible already!? I've had the opportunity this past week to consider quite a few elements in the classroom that I previously would not have considered. For example, what is the difference between a rich, and non-rich task? This is something we spent some time investigating this week and I thought I would share some of my personal observations with you. We observed a few ways that a task can be considered "rich" these things include elements such as, rich tasks should require students to deepen their thinking and students should be able to have an open discussion about potential answers. 

I created a survey this week for some of my peers to complete with regards to their feelings towards math, if you have a second, please check it out, there are some interesting questions on there and I am curious to see the different answers that it evokes. You can find the survey here. 

Another element that I've spent quite a bit of time investigating this week  is differentiation in the classroom. What is differentiation you might ask? Essentially, it is "reaching every learner" and adapting teaching and learning so that every student benefits equally. I've personally benefited from doing this research because it has provided me with many different tips and tricks to differentiate my teaching in my future classroom. 

Here is a small list of a few ways you can differentiate in your classroom:

• Providing Choice Boards  
• Cubing
•  Learning Centers/Stations
• Learning Contracts (one of my personal favourites)
•  RAFT
• Tiering  

Many of these strategies are easy ways that a teacher can be sure they are teaching to reach all of their students. 

 

Thanks for reading again this week!  

Stage 3 reflection

Halfway There!

Hi everyone! This week marks three weeks done, holy cow right? Already halfway through the semester! This week I spent a lot of time focusing on getting my mathematics webinar set up, I am very much looking forward to having the opportunity to share some interesting information with some classmates! As we start week three, things seem to be settling down and everyone is getting into their groove again, even their math grooves. I had the opportunity this week to watch a fellow classmates webinar, which I can't say enough good things about! The webinar was full of useful tips and tricks for teachers to use in the classroom as manipulatives and learning tools. 

My classmates provided me with many different resources I could use in my classroom for math, which I found super helpful. My personal favourite was "Which one doesn't belong?" Check it our for yourself here and see why! The main focus of their webinar was how to create environment for math inquiry. I was able to relate extremely well to this topic as I often felt discouraged by math as a student and had a lot of emotional struggles throughout my time as a student due to lack of support and confidence. The website mentioned above is a great way for students to safely provide their opinion, and gives every student in the classroom an opportunity to look at things a different way and to learn from their peers. 

Retrieved September 25th 2017 from: wodb.ca

This image is an image that my classmates shared with us during their webinar. The goal is to determine and justify which one doesn't belong. I was extremely impressed by the conversation that this allowed us to have. Through each other, we realized many different options were possible and plausible. 

I found this week to be extremely enlightening and I can only look forward to the things I will continue to learn through and from my fellow teacher candidates. Thanks for reading again this week! 

Stage two reflection

Math Mindsets 

This week, I want to consider what a math mindset might be. As we've progressed through our second week of the year, I've found myself already being confused in my math class. I know right? It's only week 3! However, I feel like a lot of this feeling might be stemming from a deeper place. As a student myself, I did not believe in my mathematics abilities, I had a hard time believing in myself when I became frustrated. Now however, I can feel myself moving down another path, one where making mistakes isn't seen as an embarrassment, and is seen as progress. 

Retrieved September 18th 2017 From: Growth Mindset

 I took it upon myself this week to do a little bit more investigating when it comes to having a Growth or Fixed Mindset. We were asked to watch a video in class that briefly goes over the differences between the two, and then were asked to try and describe or determine which mindset we believe we have. I had a hard time answering this question because I previously would have said that I had a fixed mindset, "I'm not good at this, I quit". However, now I look at things differently, I wouldn't go as far as saying I have a complete growth mindset, however that I am well on my way to developing one. 

I found a fellow blogger this week that talks about a mathematics growth mindset, and states that this is an approach to teaching mathematics which believes that mindset is more important than initial ability. Helen Hindle, the author of this blog, states that students with a growth mindset will make better progress than students with a fixed mindset. She breaks down the difference between the two and here is a little highlight of what it looks like: 

Growth Mindset:                                                  Fixed Mindset:

View mistakes as opportunity for learning          Are reluctant to take on challenges 

Are resilient                                                          Prefer to stay in their comfort zone 

Believe that effort creates success                       Think it is important to look smart in front of others

Think about how they learn                                 Believe you either have talent or don't 

 Seeing this broken down like this opened my eyes significantly. The column on the right makes me feel like we are failing our children and students. I don't believe that any child should feel that way about any topic, let alone one that they may already have been apprehensive going into. 

If you would like to read Helen's blog for yourself, find her website here. 

I have found that through trial and error, even in my placement last year, it has been one of the most effective ways to learn. My associate teach last year had this saying "practice makes progress" and it has really stuck with me because I don't believe in complete perfection, humans should be allowed to make mistakes, however it's the continued effort and practice that is important at the end of the day.

Thanks for reading! 

 

Stage 1 Math Reflection

 Here we go again!

As I look back on where I started with my math confidence last year, I cannot believe that I have come to a point where I finally feel like I could actually teach math. Throughout my first practicum experience in my first year of teachers college, I learned a great deal about myself and my abilities.

I used to think that math was something you were either naturally good at, or you weren't good at it at all. Through my practice teaching, I came to realize that is simply not true. Math is something that takes effort, patience and practice. I was placed in a grade 5 classroom and I had to completely re-teach myself every concept that I taught to my students! It was through this that I realized that math is not as scary as it once seemed.

Throughout the next 7 months I look forward to gaining more knowledge about math and ways to make math something that students will look forward to in the classroom, instead of dreading it. Growing up I always look at math as something that was daunting and always had a mindset that I simply wouldn't be good at it, so I put in minimal effort.

As a teacher, this is something that makes me sad, for lack of a better word, for my future students, no child should doubt their abilities before even trying something new. As a goal for this year, I would like to learn some tricks that will make my future students enjoy being in my math class and having it be a safe and successful environment.

I would also like to learn of ways to help reduce the daily planning that I found myself doing last year so I believe that the unit planning portion of this year will be extremely useful. I found myself struggling with my planning and always scrounging to put a lesson together for the following day.

I look forward to spending the next six weeks continuing to find ways to personally become more comfortable with math as well as learning new ways that I can help my students find the same confidence.

Retrieved September 11th 2017 From: Youtube

Week 12 Reflection Post

Retrieved December 5th 2016 from: AdventurousChica

Hey guys! This is likely going to be my last math blog post for a while...we are getting ready to head into our placements, yay! (OK the thought is actually terrifying me) but I just wanted to talk about some of the things I have learned throughout the last 12 weeks.

I came into this math course unbelievably nervous that I was not going to do well because I would need to know how to do math...How wrong I was!!! I learned that you do not need to be a math whiz to be able to teach math, I've now learned through experience that it is OK to tell students "I don't know the answer to that right now but let me find it for you" or "why don't we find that answer together?". When I started teachers college I was so worried that teachers needed to know everything, that is the biggest misconception I could have had, teachers learn just as much as students do, we learn from each other.

I have learned through our assignments in this class that with a little bit of time and effort, putting together a lesson that is well organized and effective that you understand, is not all that difficult, sure it may seem daunting, but a little bit of time and effort goes a long way. I've also learned many tips and tricks for engaging students and having them learn while having fun! We have done things like Easter Egg hunts, number lines, and in my placement class we did a Pokemon Go scavenger hunt!

Throughout the past 12 weeks we have watched our classmates become more confident in their abilities as educators and it is because we have had great support with guidance through all the ways we can be effective in the classroom. Math is still a scary thought for me, I was speaking with a high school math teacher over the past weekend and listening to her talk about the projects her students were working on scared the pants off me. However, this doesn't mean that it is something I would not be able to do anymore, it just means I need to be flexible and have an open mind when it comes to myself and my students abilities in the classroom.

Thank you guys so much for reading over the last 12 weeks and I will try and keep you updated throughout my placement!