I found the title rather daunting when I came across it. Having been brought up learning math in a rather route learning fashion, I was quite stumped by the title. Knowing and doing math was merely about getting a perfect 100 on a math exam. It was less about understanding the different ways of looking at a problem and was more about getting the right method and the right steps which came from repetitive practice.
One of the most important sentences I found in the text was "Doing mathematics in classroom should closely model the act of doing mathematics in the real world". I remember mathematics being such a far fetched concept for me and my friends because we always felt that none of it would have a purpose in the real world. In working with my students, I will need to ensure that I make math relevant to their lives to continue to keep them interested.
The problem sets in the chapter also made me think about different potential ways to solve the problem. I had my family members try it out and everyone had a different way of doing it. It forced me to look at the problem sets in a variety of way opening myself up to more and interesting ways of solving a problem. This will definitely prove to be useful when working with my students.
The theories provided a more theoretical model for how math is learnt and understood. The implications however were more insightful. When reading that bit I found that my students were doing the exact same thing by talking about the problem sets, thinking about the questions etc. As a teacher, I need to further work on encouraging my students to continue their discussions, and more importantly focus on learning from mistakes and using multiple approaches. I also need to find ways to help students who are slower learners.
Besides for that, I feel that the current curriculum used in my school is very much in place with what is mentioned in the implications for learning mathematics. A wide variety of teaching aids, hands on learning and linkage to the real world is used with our children. Abstract concepts are taught through models and other teaching aids thereby enhancing learning. E.g. 1 vs 10 vs 100 using strips and squares.
I am also glad that the book had mentioned that the models may lose their value if they are used just as answer getting devices. I find that some of my students do use counters and such merely as a way to obtain the answers. I would need to work further on their conceptual understanding. This can be done by allowing them to use models for understanding and taking the models away when they are doing their problem sets.
One of the most important sentences I found in the text was "Doing mathematics in classroom should closely model the act of doing mathematics in the real world". I remember mathematics being such a far fetched concept for me and my friends because we always felt that none of it would have a purpose in the real world. In working with my students, I will need to ensure that I make math relevant to their lives to continue to keep them interested.
The problem sets in the chapter also made me think about different potential ways to solve the problem. I had my family members try it out and everyone had a different way of doing it. It forced me to look at the problem sets in a variety of way opening myself up to more and interesting ways of solving a problem. This will definitely prove to be useful when working with my students.
The theories provided a more theoretical model for how math is learnt and understood. The implications however were more insightful. When reading that bit I found that my students were doing the exact same thing by talking about the problem sets, thinking about the questions etc. As a teacher, I need to further work on encouraging my students to continue their discussions, and more importantly focus on learning from mistakes and using multiple approaches. I also need to find ways to help students who are slower learners.
Besides for that, I feel that the current curriculum used in my school is very much in place with what is mentioned in the implications for learning mathematics. A wide variety of teaching aids, hands on learning and linkage to the real world is used with our children. Abstract concepts are taught through models and other teaching aids thereby enhancing learning. E.g. 1 vs 10 vs 100 using strips and squares.
I am also glad that the book had mentioned that the models may lose their value if they are used just as answer getting devices. I find that some of my students do use counters and such merely as a way to obtain the answers. I would need to work further on their conceptual understanding. This can be done by allowing them to use models for understanding and taking the models away when they are doing their problem sets.
No comments:
Post a Comment