As educators of math I think it’s very
important to show our students daily the usefulness and purpose of math. Many
of our students ask us, “Why do I need to know math? How will this ever help me
in my future?” These questions are super important and demand a full
explanation to our students rather than “because it’s important.” We need to
give our students the answers to these questions and these can be done through
multiple ways. For example, we can get
guest speakers to come in and talk to our students about the role math plays in
their lives and job, we can stress the importance of every new concept before
teaching it and the different cases the students will encounter this in their
future. Another way is to show students TED talks and math clips!
As we know, math is only mandatory until
grade 11. Afterwards, students have the choice if they are going to pursue it
again. This is a video that I would show students in grade 11 in order to
emphasize the importance math has in the world as they start to decide if this
is something they are going to pursue next year.
We Use Math : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QqkLrduFA0
Students need to know that the world is
changing and mathematics has an important role in the changing world. Math gives you the basis to do new things,
make new discoveries and allows you to open yourself up to many different jobs
such as a video game developer, research analyst, investment banker, physicist,
foreign exchange trader, electrical engineer… Lots of companies want math
majors because math provides a foundation for many sciences and other subjects.
Therefore, as students are watching the clip they are able to see real people
with real jobs and how they use math in their daily lives. Furthermore, the
people talk about the realities of math and that math is hard! However, we
shouldn’t shy away from the difficulties but rather approach them with an open
mindset.
This is also another video that I like that
highlights some of the fears and struggles of students in the math class. With
Math I Can: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLPFaOvhlKw&spfreload=10
Students learn that math is everywhere and
is a basic life skill and with hard work and the right mindset, they can grow
and change the world.
Therefore, it is important to know that as
educators, we will help form the impressions students have towards math. The
best way is to promote the daily real-life applications of math, the
opportunities it holds in our twenty-first century world and the success
stories of individuals who have used their math to help others and themselves.
Emily
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeletePresentation of a topic can make such a difference on whether students are engaged or not in a lesson or a topic. All through my own school I have definitely taken classes because a certain teacher or professor was teaching the class and not necessarily because I was overly interested in the content. By leaving a positive impression on students with how are lessons are delivered, they will be more likely to be interested in the content and to continue on with math as a subject.
Well done!
Dante
I think it's also a good idea to show students daily the importance of math. This can be shown through stories, guest speakers or even small clips. Students should be reminded of this daily/weekly and this could help encourage open and healthy mindsets amongst students.
ReplyDeleteI think it's also a good idea to show students daily the importance of math. This can be shown through stories, guest speakers or even small clips. Students should be reminded of this daily/weekly and this could help encourage open and healthy mindsets amongst students.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I really love the videos you have found! I was definitely challenged with the "why do we need to learn this" question a few times this year, and my students were only in Grade 7! They still have many years of learning math ahead of them, so I think we need to work at changing their mindsets about math- if we show them how math is used in "real life", they should be so much more positive and encouraged to learn. I will keep these videos in mind for next year!
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