Student and Teacher - Willingness to Succeed

Reciprocity

            Ever felt like this during a math lesson? Ever see a kid do this in your own math class? I certainly have.

          Let's begin with the first part of the two questions. I remember throughout grade school always being pretty confident about my abilities in math but all of a sudden when I hit high school, I seemed to have hit a wall. You might have seen me doing something like this if you were my teacher.

      

           It was not always like this. I did well in grade 9 but in grade 10 I definitely remember feeling disinterested and disconnected from my teacher and the material being taught. It was most likely a combination of two different factors. One, my teacher, although very knowledgeable in his field, really had a hard time explaining the material to his students. He was very traditional and usually did a simple note on chalkboard lesson, which ended in a couple examples and then left us to complete the work that corresponded to the lesson in our textbooks. 

 

          The second reason I think I did so poorly was because of the lack of my own involvement in the learning process. Perhaps it was because we were not engaged by the teacher, or because there were no fancy gimmicks. It is hard to explain. Maybe, simply, I was shy. However, I am sure that if I forced the issue with the teacher and asked pointed questions I could have initially done much much better. Instead, I simply put my head down and pretended I did not exist (and so did the teacher) and slumped through that semester of math. Later I would drop down a level and eventually retake my grade 11 math course at the university level and finally grade 12. Although, I did not love math I did feel that it would help me in life. (Perhaps I am just a glutton for punishment.)

         In answer to the latter of my two initial questions, I have seen this sort of behaviour in my own classroom. Students who shy away from asking questions only to dig themselves a trench later on. Although, as a teacher now, I try to reach out to those students and find ways to force them to be involved with their own learning. Sometimes this may mean doing a whole circus performance in order to get their attention. Sometimes, I simply need to take them aside at recess and talk to them independently. Other times, all it takes is for me to substitute their name into a reasoning question. 

Admittedly, I feel that sometimes I do better with some students than others. What I have learned though is that it comes down to a reciprocal relationship between teacher and student.

       As a teacher I must intervene when I see a student struggling. If I did not, I simply would not be doing my job to my full potential. This means I need to go out of my way to reach that shy and uninterested student. I know, it seems so much easier to go with the preferred and willing students in the classroom but after all we are employed to teach everyone. Finally, as a colleague of mine always reminds me: "You can lead the horse to water but you can't force him to drink." As I think back to my youth, maybe my teacher wasn't exactly pulling at my reigns but he did show me the path, it's just too bad I was more of a stubborn mule than a galloping steed. 

  

     I suppose all I am addressing is that for some, an appreciation of math comes over time. It takes a certain maturity, eagerness, and open mindedness to learn. An old japanese proverb goes something like this: "When the student is ready, the teacher shall appear." In my personal experience, both student and teacher must simply be willing.

Making Math useful

Problem solving is my favourite part in math.  We hear the students very often say "when am I going to use this or that math skill in my life?"  That is why problem solving allows them to see and experience  the use of these skills.The role of math is to give the kids the knowledge they need to function in the real world. When they are learn how to solve problems they are more prepared for unpredictable situations during a working lifetime.  I remember when I was in Teacher's College one of the professors reminded us that we, the teachers profit more than the students from  the lesson we teach since we are the ones that try to adjust it to different learning levels and styles,  analyse and if it doesn't work we go back and think about it. Therefore,in order for students to learn how to solve problems they need to test, experience, develop their own theory, or try something new.

That is why I would like to share a really neat website that makes math practical and useful. I think is mostly for gr.7 and up students. This website shows how numbers effect everyday decisions. Students will find numbers through simple situations such as cooking, decorating a house etc. Also here math helps them learn how to shop wisely whether to buy or lease a car or even to use cash or credit cards. It is a valuable website for teachers as well. Have a look please.
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dailymath/index.html
The video was supposed to be at the very bottom of the blog:)

"Not a Math Person"

While teaching math, one can commonly hear a student exclaim, "I'm not a math person".

I dislike this saying, because I think we all have some "math" inside of us. Maybe I'm an optimist and hopeful for all of my students, but I believe that everyone can do it, they just need to have the attitude and the opportunities to experiment and figure it out with support from someone who knows the answer to guide them along the way.

Another thing wrong with this saying, is the assumptions that go along with it. To most students who say this, they are thinking about the numbers, equations, and representations that they just don't understand. But math isn't just about numeric skills. There's other aspects that contribute to a student's mathematical mind, numbers are only a tiny part of math. For example, seeing patterns, strategy games, and word problems all contribute to a mathematical mind!

This saying also assumes that math is either a skill that comes easily, one that comes with hard work, or one that doesn't come at all! Most students tend to rule out the middle option though ("one that comes with hard work"). They'd rather believe that they don't have the skill than have to work hard for it. Of course, this is a generalization and does not account for all students who struggle with math. Part of this belief is brought about by socialization through a student's family, but also through education and how in elementary years it is mainly about numbers and developing those basic skills in order to get to the abstract concepts in the later elementary years, high school and university.

As teacher's we have to realize that some student's are going to have this opinion about their math skills and abilities. We have to be ready to observe and know how to pin point students that believe this about themselves and help them to overcome this opinion. Math is more than numbers, and everyone has the possibility to be a "math person" and we as math teacher's have the opportunity, maybe even the privilege, to show students the path towards success!

Happy math teaching!

Lessons Learned

Over the years, there have been many people who have helped me in my journey into Mathematics, but one has been there all they way through providing me with guidance, wisdom and humour about mathematics and the study of it.  That person is Dr. Brian Mortimer. PhD., but I call him Dad.  The reason I chose to start my blog with a post about him is quite simple, I cannot think, talk let alone teach math without one of his lessons, jokes or insights coming to mind.  So I thought I would share a few with you,

Math and related lessons learned from my Dad...

Lesson #1: "There is a difference between mathematics and arithmetic."

"What you are doing in elementary school is arithmetic not math.  Arithmetic is a part of math, but is its own entity."  I am not sure if my elementary school teachers appreciated being corrected when I shared this knowledge in class, but I certainly felt special knowing the difference.  To this day I am aware of the distinction and although the distinction may not come up that frequently, I did learn that it is important to use the correct terms while discussing subjects and that teaching students proper math terms can give them confidence.

Lesson #2:  The answer lies in the questions.

I do not think my Dad ever told me how to solve a Math problem, although it might have happened one or twice. What I do remember are his questions.  He strongly believes that each learner has the ability to find the answer, and that his job is to facilitate this learning with carefully positioned questions.  Now, as a teacher I strive every day use good questions.  Questions that are challenging yet accessible.  Questions that are simple and profound, and questions that allow the learners to find their answers themselves. 

Lesson #3: It is not just about getting the correct answer.  

It is knowing how you got it when you do and figuring out why you didn't when you don't.  Learning takes place in the thinking about the problem and the many different paths one can take to find an answer.  Getting the answer is great, but knowing how you got it means you can do it again in another context.  If you have written down your thinking then it is possible to see how and why it worked.  Conversely if you do not get the right answer then an examination of thinking can show that you knew a lot of the right steps, but got off track at point d or miscalculated 6x3.  Recognizing the bigger picture can help students shift from "I don't know anything, because I got it wrong" to " I got a lot of it right and next time I will double check my multiplication.  It is not just about getting the right answer.

Lesson #4:  Never underestimate the power of humour.

"When you go down to the mathematical swamp beware of algegators and calcudials." One of the many jokes used on the top of assignments in Prof. Mortimer's classes.  He would often start his worksheets or test with a joke.  I relate this practice to an icebreaker in the classroom, something to break the tension, or stress and get folks focusing on what the task is at hand.  The jokes also helped students to realize you can take something seriously while still having fun.  In class, I find myself using humour quite often to make a point, change the tone of the class or just to add laughter.  Sometimes only a couple of students get it, but those who do smile so it is worth it.

Lesson #5: "Don't let the turkeys get you down."

This lesson is not Math specific, but certainly helps in teaching. 

My Dad is still teaching math and arithmetic, and is now working on online video instruction.  I keep learning lessons from him through our time together and am grateful that he keeps asking me questions.

Thanks for reading!

-Lucy

This is the blog for Assignment #3

To Create a blog post, its pretty easy. The hard part is coming up with the idea. Think about what you want to talk about. It could be a great resource you found on the web, a neat idea you use in class, a story from your teaching past, you choose. Remember to at labels to tag your posts.
Remember you can add images by uploading them or using a web URL.
You can also add video right on the blog (hopefully you can do the math better than Patricia Heaton does in this video)