Student Involvement

Although I did not have a practicum placement with a math teacher, I was able to spend my prep periods observing and assisting a grade nine math teacher at my school. He had been recommended to me from other members of the faculty and even some of his students.

One of their main points of praise was his ability to get the entire class involved in learning. He managed to achieve this by having students continually out of their desks and performing math questions on the boards, which completely lined his classroom. This activity worked well for his classes because it allowed students to move around and stay active, which is helpful for a subject like math. It also made students pay attention to the material because they knew that they would be putting their answers on the board.

This method helped the teacher understand where his students were at in their learning because he could easily see how quickly they answered the questions. He could also tailor his teachings to the students individual difficulties if he noticed that more than one were getting stuck on the same step or making similar mistakes. This is an easy way for a teacher to check understanding without marking individual papers or asking if everyone "gets it."

It's important to note that the teacher did not mark or grade any of these student answers. He went around the classroom and observed and made suggestions when necessary. The students were comfortable enough to ask their peers next to them for help if they were stuck. They also used each other to check the validity of their answers. All students attempted the problems in some ways, possibly because they enjoyed writing on the board and did not want to have a blank space where they were standing. Since students were standing up, and the noise levels were a little louder than most classrooms, students felt less anxiety about raising their hand and asking the teacher a question.

In conclusion, students seemed to really enjoy this method of teaching and I would encourage other math teachers to try and have their students get over the fear of having other people look at their math by collective board-writing.