Thursday, 22 September 2016

Week 2


Hello everyone and welcome to my second blog post!

Mathematics…don’t we all just cringe when we see an equation? Growing up having to suffer in a data management, calculus or functions course and at the end of the day complaining how much your brain hurt? Yeah I’ve been there too…I believe there is a negative opinion on math but it is slowly turning over to a positive one. While I grew up I only enjoyed math when I understood the questions, and felt overjoyed getting a question correct. However, when I couldn’t understand a question or kept getting the final answer wrong I just wanted to pull my hair out! I was one of those students that worked hard to figure things out to get it right and to feel that accomplishment because that’s what kept me motivated. I think what makes a good mathematics student is to be able to fail at times and be successful at other times. Failing is not a negative thing, people can learn a lot from their failures. Having to struggle and figure out questions will only help the student understand it and remember it longer.
Starting my next chapter as a teacher candidate I did consider potentially having mathematics as a second teachable, but then I thought to myself and laughed. I was never super strong at math, I did well but I was no human calculator. During my first week I learned that the best math teacher is sometimes someone who struggled with math themselves. Being able to break down the questions for the students and relate to the struggles their dealing with is HUGE! Sometimes people who understand it too well have a hard time breaking it down for the people who don’t. This is where I thought to myself and said you know what maybe I could do it! I actually volunteered in a grade 5 classroom and every time I came in they were focusing on math. Believe it or not I did enjoy it.
What’s also exciting is all these games people have come up with that involve math and this is where I see mathematics turning into a positive opinion! I strongly believe if you give a student a chance to play math games online they would enjoy it much more than the traditional “sit at your desk and finish this sheet of equations” approach.  This is exactly what I would be implementing into my teaching when I have the chance to because I think if its fun the students will stay engaged and once their engaged they will learn!
Regarding some areas of the mathematics curriculum that I will focus on learning over the next few weeks of this course would be the grade level I will be completing my placement in. However, this is still to be determined at this time. I also think it would be best to look over the areas that I need to refresh on to become a better educator.
            In the following link there is a Demolition Division game for students in Grade 3 or 4 that could be beneficial to use in the classroom! Enjoy!



Mulan. (July 14, 2011). Funny Math. (Flickr Image). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2deMCIP 




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