Math Curse

I thought that the book Math Curse, by Jon Scieszka that was read in class was amazing. I think that this book would be a great asset to use in my future classrooms because I feel that this book has endless possibilities for use in the classroom. The book presents a number of methods and ways to engage the students into the story while also covering the expected curriculum.

I found this book to be very easy to connect with and I think that children would also respond to it in similar ways. I found that it shows students that mathematics can be frustrating but at the same time rewarding. Also it shows children some of the ways that mathematics is used in everyday life such as figuring out time and how to sharing things such as cupcakes among a certain number of people. I think that it is very significant that students understand why they need to learn and understand mathematics for the reason that I believe once a child comprehends this then it can be a great motivational tool.

The story itself is also very well written for children because its in the eyes of a child and shows how children can sometimes get overwhelmed and annoyed when learning new information. I found that the illustrations that accompanied the text to be very powerful and captivating. The use of colors and placement of objects made the pictures look very interesting. I think that this is also a great way to draw in the reader and to fascinate young students into the story and have the raise questions. I think that this was a magnificent book and I would absolutely recommended it to other teachers, parents, friends, etc.

Do Schools Kill Creativity? : Response

Sir Ken Robinson really made me reflect about the way that we react and respond to creativity within the classroom. I found that his nature to convey his ideas of comedy to captivate the audience to be tremendously effective for me. It not only made me pay attention to what was being said but made the material easier to comprehend. It was through this humour that I could actually see how teachers often do hide away and discourage creativity. For example when he talked about the child that was drawing and when the teacher asked what she was drawing the young child responded by saying God. I found it interesting that instead of the teacher placing encouragement or prompting the child to further elaborate on why the child was drawing God, the teacher negatively replied with no one knows what God looks like. This really got my concentration because it made me think back to my own experiences as a child and as a result I could recall incidents like this one were creativity in schools was discouraged.

The video meant a lot for me as a future primary/elementary schoolteacher in particular with regards to teaching mathematics to children because it has opened my eyes to the importance of creativity and to allow students to try different methods no matter the subject area. I feel that mathematics is constantly assumed by the teacher to be approached in the way that it is taught in class and that any variation of that way is looked at as an exceedingly negative approach. I personally disagree with this, I feel that mathematics has numerous ways and formats and we, as teachers need to encourage our students to use their creativity even if it does result as a mistake. I consider mistakes to be the opening for greater learning. Also I found from the video the insight that a lot of times teachers discourage creativity unknowingly. I think that since this video has brought it to my attention I may be more aware of this and promote creativity within the classroom whenever I can.

Math Autobiography!!

Reflecting back on my mathematical experiences throughout my primary and elementary years it is difficult to recall every experience, however there are some incidences and details that seemed to be common that do stand out.

I can remember the classroom layout composing of straight lines of desks that consisted of many rows. Their was an individual desk for each student and I can recall a majority of those teachers encouraging the classroom set-up to remain the way it was, which created difficulties and as a result seemed to be ineffective for group work. This gave me the impression that working independently was of great importance. Within the classroom walls I remember their being many colorful posters about English and Science, however the only pictures that revolved around math were only a few dull plain sheets with the multiplication table or of something of that nature, compared to now when I walk into one of my observation classrooms and there are many done it a multitude of colors and interesting styles. Also I notice now that desks are more times grouped together or at tables. There are also a lot more resources placed into the classroom now such as different worksheets for the children to take, games, books etc. I can only evoke the textbook and worksheets related to the lesson when I was in those grades.

The role that comes to mind about my teachers when it came to math was that it was a subject that we needed to do and that we would need for the rest of our lives. There was never any real enthusiasm about the subject except for my grade four teacher who loved math and thought that it was wonderful. He just got so excited and made learning about it fun. This is when I experienced my best memory about math. I could always do well with math if I studied and practiced but like many children I was somewhat lazy and had no interest in math and as a result did not do as well as I could have been doing. Then I had him and he made math so much fun. He made worksheets that seemed to be more like play then homework and my interest level elevated and so did my grades. I am thankful for that teacher because he had a huge impact on me wanting to become a teacher and made me realize that learning could be fun. Looking back now I also recognize that he also made me see that when you struggle with something and you ease the pressure off it that it becomes much easier to work with and build upon.

When I look back on the types of assessment that was used throughout my primary and elementary years I can only recall basic worksheets and a main test for each unit that we learned.

Looking back on math in high school it was much the same way as elementary but with much more focus on working independently and having to do multiple assignments for each unit along with a unit test. Also we did finals, midterms and later we were introduced to publics.

I have taken a number of math courses here at memorial university for example I took math 1050, 1051, stats 2500 , 2050 and Pmat 2320

I think that I engage with mathematics in my life in major ways because I use my math when paying my bills, taxes, when looking at any type of financial decisions, and with making purchases of furniture/ appliances just to name a few.

I think that mathematics is changing in the schools for the better from what I have seen thus far in my observation days. I have seen some of my teachers incorporate math into other areas of the curriculum and draw upon the student’s knowledge that relates to what they are currently learning to these other subjects.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog! This is my blog for Education 3940, Mathematics in Primary and Elementary grades and this is my very first time creating a blog. I will use this blog to reflect on my mathematical experiences, my expanding knowledge of the concepts relating to mathematics and new strategies to effectively teach this subject. This course is of great interest to me considering that it is my focus area and I hope to gain more skills and tools from this course to use to better enhance my teaching abilities.