2020 bad things about me as teacher

Hello Jane,

How have you been? How are the kids? I am overwhelmed with work and demands at home. My daughter, who is in grade 9 now,  asked me for help in math. So, I remembered some of the ways we learned this stuff. Do you remember Mrs. Smith? I'll never forget her awful sense of humour, sarcasm. I thought she was biased towards us Canadians because her little European "advanced" educational system and where she comes from. That kind of turned me off from her class. 

My daughter's teacher is so nice and looks at them with no prejudice.

Regards,

Sarah

2020 good things about me as a teacher

Hello Jane,
How have you been? How are the kids? I am overwhelmed with work and demands at home. My daughter  has been struggling with math and asked me for help. So, I remembered some of the ways we learned this stuff. Do you remember Mrs. Smith? She did such a great job at breaking down really complicated concepts and took the time explain things step by step how to do things and how they relate to one another.   My daughter's teacher seems to emphasize the importance on how to perform these calculations, meanwhile kids have no idea what they mean. I also remember how she always reviewed the background material at the beginning of the lesson, that really helped me follow. Most of all I found those anonymous question at the end of class that we leave for her very helpful, so if I did not get something and was shy to ask I could just write it down. So, if there were enough people like me she would go over the concept the next class or simply write the note back with simple instructions on how to understand the problem better.
I have to go help my daughter with homework now.
All the best,
Sarah

Battleground Schools: Mathematics Education

The article discusses the 20^th century controversies around the development of mathematical education in North America. These tensions are closely related to political climate of the day. The dichotomies of conservative and progressive approaches lie in the differences in their objectives, methods of teaching, attitude, assessments, etc. Some of the characteristics of the conservative approach are: fluency as a goal, presenting as a method, authoritative discipline, learning of facts and algorithms through explanations, and takes the view that math is for an elite few. On the other hand, progressive view is more about understanding, inquiry and sense-making, original thinking, exploratory, examples from lived experiences, and assessment with an emphasis on process and evidence of mathematical thinking. The factors influencing the direction in which education system evolved are based on society’s (negative) views of mathematics, as well as some teachers’ and administrators’ positions in the education system such as their successes with a conservative system and their math phobias due to lack of knowledge.

There are three 20^th century movements of mathematical development including: Progressivist reform (from 1910 – 1940), The New Math during the 1960’s, and the NCTM Standards that emerged around 1990. The Progressivists emphasized the importance of knowing why rather than merely how to arrive to solutions. Dewey’s view was teaching should focus on students’ inquiries with an emphasis on doing rather than merely knowing math.  The New Math movement of the cold war period reflected society’s anxiety of the West’s competition with technical advances of the Soviet Union. As a result mathematical education became engaged in mainly highly abstract curriculum aimed at future rocket scientists. Subsequently, the NCTM standards introduced new tensions in mathematical education based on right-wing politics of the day in the 1990’s. The focus was on standardized testing and reining-in of teacher autonomy in the name of accountability. There was the emphasis to bring the curriculum back to basics whereas the system of standards introduced greater conflicts between teaching approaches which have been a distraction from the goal of improved mathematical learning. Fortunately, greater attention is being paid to improving learning of mathematics which would ultimately help the students.

I think it is important to separate ideological philosophies and other interests from the goal of improved mathematical learning. The policy makers should focus on both the learners and the environment, or socioeconomic circumstances of the time. For example, as much as the understanding of why certain mathematical theories work it is also important to recognize its uses. For example, the technological advancements in the computer science field that we have made in the last couple of decades have had impact on how we learn and teach mathematics. We use technology to solve problems and we learn necessary, and sometimes abstract, math to develop the technology. So, I think both approaches include useful elements and we should strive to find the right balance in our teaching practices and curriculum development.

Questions for a High School Mathematics Teacher and a Student

Questions for a teacher:

1. What do yo do when advanced students have finished their work in class well ahead of the rest of the class, do you give them extra work?
2. What kind of technology do you use?
3. What do you find most rewarding being a teacher?
4. What challenges did you face as a new teacher?  
5. What teaching strategies work best with your students? 

Questions for a student:

1. How do you feel about solving Math problems?
2. What do you like about your Math teacher?
3. What  do you not like about your teacher?
4. Do you find it useful in your daily life?
5. Would you like to have a career related to Mathematics?

Student and Teacher Interview Summary

By: Raman Dhiman, Zsofia Szigeti, Marija O’Neill


We interviewed a teacher with more than twenty years of experience both in public and private schools. She is currently teaching grades nine and ten. Following are some of the highlights of our interview including interesting points from teacher’s answers and our responses.

When we asked the teacher how she manages students with different abilities and work habits she said that she does not like to give her advanced students work which is ahead of the curriculum. Instead, she keeps them busy by giving them work that is broad in the subject and by encouraging them to help others. As a parent, I would like to have this teacher teach my kids, although this may not be a wish shared by some other parents. There are parents and kids who focus on raised goals, raising them as far ahead of curriculum as possible. I like my kids and my students to enjoy more stable growth and not be working ahead for one period then be bored the next, and then possibly even loose the academic momentum, work habits, and the ability to look into the subject deeper.

We were impressed that she was fond of using technology such as Tablet pc, overhead projector, and the Internet. The tablet pc appears quite helpful to give live displays of the graphical presentation, while she is facing the class.

When we asked her what she finds most rewarding about being a teacher she responded by saying that creating a safe environment where students feel understood and that they matter was on top of her list. She added that she enjoys the fact that she can focus and direct their attention to certain things without controlling them. Students on the other hand, are active participants in the learning process because of teacher’s ability to keep them interested in learning.

Showing genuine interest in students and listening helps determine their needs, which allows a teacher to adjust the curriculum accordingly. Offering help after school is very important because there are students who are shy and do not dare to ask questions in class.  Being too shy to ask questions in class is not something I had ever previously given much thought about. Given that many students find math difficult she takes extra steps in motivating and even has quotations on her wall such as “It is the attitude not the aptitude that determines the altitude of you success” and “I-m-possible”.

Being a substitute teacher appears to be the most difficult position to be in because there was no relationship between the teacher and the students and she could not bring her own material to make her lesson more appealing. We may be in this position before we get a permanent job and it is good to know that.

Student's interview:

In addition, we interviewed a grade ten student whose strengths she stated are not in math. She shared her thoughts about her learning experiences as well as her emotions towards the subject of mathematics.

In the very beginning of our conversation with the student we gathered that she  was one of those typical kids with fear of math. She said that math was the hardest subject and feels very nervous about it. Even if she knew that she is using the right methods to solve problems she was never fully confident about the outcome. The anxiety would usually be over once she had a confirmation that her answer was correct. As a result, she needed more time to complete her work in class. 

When we asked what she liked about her teacher she said it was the fact that her teacher listens to her students and adjusts curriculum based on what she feels suits them. For example, the teacher allows them to take extra time to complete their exercises in class if necessary. One of the things she did not like about her teacher is that although she would give enough time to finish work in the classroom, she did not allow enough time to prepare for exams. Also, she would like her teacher to help her build confidence that she needs in order to tackle some of her mathematical challenges. She realizes the importance of math in her daily life. Some of the examples of math applications in her life were: addition and subtraction, percentages in the stores (for discounts), and interestingly she mentioned speed again. 

One of the greatest discoveries about her learning was when we asked if she would like to have a career related to math. She answered that she was fascinated with proofs and how and why mathematical theories work. She is one of those kids who takes time to think what the meaning behind a quadratic equation, for example, is and not just trying to solve it quickly. This is why she is slow and needs extra time. From this article, we learnt that we as future educators must be aware of HOW students learn and maybe investigate the reasons why some students take longer to perform math operations.

Microteaching reflection

I decorated my bobby pin in four minutes at home, so I figured it would take others in my group a couple of extra minutes. However, they took the whole ten minutes to finish one while they were following my instructions. So, I guess I didn't know about their prior knowledge. Some students needed more help than others. Some of my students with more prior knowledge were interested in more ideas but I did not have time to show her some of the other things that she could do because I was helping the students who were struggling. They also mentioned that I should have emphasized its importance. Again, I can go back to time fort that,  I planned to do that mention how much kids appreciate hand made things but ran out time. This exercise is very useful for us because we get to practice planning and giving lessons in a timely fashion. Timing is the biggest challenge for me.

Lesson Plan: Make a plain bobby pin sparkle

	What?	How long?	Materials?
Bridges	Do you know a little girl who could use some fancy jewel pins?	less than 1 min	bobby pins, colored thread, small jewel beads, scissors
Learning Objectives	Students will learn to make a plain bobby pin sparkle by adding some glitzy jewel beads.
Teaching Objectives	Pay attention to those students who are not crafty or who may be struggling with fine motor skills.
Pretest	Ask the group if they have ever tried to add jewels on a bobby pins before.	1 minute
Participating Learning	I will show the students the basic method on how to decorate the pins while they are following along with me using their own pins.	7 minutes
Post-test	The test will be conducted as we go allong. They will finish their pins at the same time as I do.
Summary and Wrapup	This makes a nice personal gift for kids. Ask if this stimulates further imagination, maybe decorate a simple head band, or make a ring, etc.	1 minute

David Hewitt's video

David gets students' attention by making a loud banging sound with a long awkward stick. The sound helps them decide when to start counting. His introduction to variables is very interesting. He says 'lets say it's' such and such number than adds another number and deducts a third number, than repeats the exercise by changing the beginning number. With that he shows how the beginning number is not important so it could be any number - becomes an x. Great introduction to variables. Then verbally expressing the equation helps kids understand how to write it out and understand the relationship between all the numbers and variables in the equation. So, this helps them figure out the order when they are solving it.

Memorable Math Teacher

From the start of my educations, grade 1, I loved math and everything else. In grade 5 when we started to have different teachers for different subjects I started to affiliate academic subjects with teachers' personalities, their teaching techniques and attitude towards me. My biology teacher was a communist and liked us to ware blue work uniforms (as if we were shop workers). He also had snakes in big jars in his classroom. And I didn't like snakes. I didn't like memorization either and this subject was predominantly that.

On the other hand, my math teacher was perceived strict and demanding by many students and parents. So, I could not have imagined that she would be my most inspirational teacher later on. The beginning was tough because we had to learn how to learn math. She started to teach us to see connection between the elements of various theories. The emphasis was less on memorizing the methods to solve problems quickly. This was the time when were learning things like adding two or more negative numbers, things that we would really have to understand and memorizing algorithms would not last long at all. I will never forget how she explained the importance of having your notes organized. But the fact that she could keep me busy in class and at home (with meaningful homework) made me respect her and math as a study. Up until then I would finish my work and be bored for the rest of the class. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly how she did that. I think she made us think relationally and until then I was probably looking for quick answers.

Another very memorable moment was when I was in grade 6. I had a traumatic experience which caused my grades to suffer, biology being first. At the end of that semester, to help me not slip to low with my grades, my math teacher invited the biology teacher to examine me in her class (as his class was already concluded). She persuaded him to give me a mark that I was used and not what I deserved at these difficult moments in my life.

Assignment 1

Assignment 1

I agree with Skemp that relational learning is more effective than instrumental to some extent. However, I see how instrumental understanding can play a part in understanding the big picture. I see it as a piece of a puzzle. When all pieces are in place they give overall picture of the subject in question. I find value in students’ independent realization of the relation between these different elements. So, if they only learn some parts of an area in mathematic their connection and extension of the theory is very important and as well as the thinking process that takes place. Skemp’s example of learning to read a map as a more valuable experience than just figure out how to get from point A to point B is and interesting one. I find learning to get to a specific destination as a small step in getting to know the map of the area and is an example of my puzzle theory above.