Quarter Wrap-Up

This quarter has taught me a lot about not only how to solve math but also how to approach math as a teacher. Math has always been one of my strengths and there were a few times this quarter where I found  the material challenging and new. I have taken my fair share of math classes and found this one unique in that it often pushed for further thinking and deeper understanding. I now realize that it is so important for students to not only understand how to complete math work, but also have strong number sense as well. Throughout this quarter, my own understanding of numbers and systems was questioned and I was having to think about the 'whys and hows' a lot more than I ever have had to before, especially regarding math.

One activity that really challenged me was the activity where we were asked to draw a line segment on a sheet of paper and then find a parallel line, perpendicular line, and a square where a side was the line. Although I know all of the vocabulary that was used in the activity and have a good understanding of how to create an accurate square, I found myself stumped on this one. What I realized from this activity, and other ones that made me think deeper, was that teaching math and learning math isn't about getting the right answer. It is more about process and understanding the concepts and characteristics of math elements. I have always been confident in math because I have been confident in my ability to get the right answer, and this class pushed me to think more about math in a larger context.

This is an area of math that seems to be lacking in schools. It is not secret that timed tests and 100 problem-ed worksheets are the norm for math curriculum. The videos we watched and reflected on gave me hope that math can be taught in an exciting way and the students can come out with not only confidence in the ability to get the right answer (like me) but also have a complete sense of what numbers are and how they relate to everything else.

Continuing to use iPod Touches

As this quarter has begun picking up pace, I must admit that I am not finding the time to effectively use the iPod touch in the classroom. I struggle with this because while I feel like it is such a great opportunity, I also feel like when I do bring it out it becomes a bit of a distraction and takes up more time than I meant for it to. I have also felt like it would be inappropriate to bring it out during a lesson my main teacher is teaching (which has been most lessons). Time management as well as deciding who deserves to use the tool have both been factors in my lack of inclusion of the iPod in my instruction. 

My opinion about the iPod touch may have been completely different had our class had the opportunity to use 26 of them. I was conflicted when it came to deciding who was going to get to use the iPod and who was not going to get to use it. There were a number of students who benefited from having it available to use during math for support, while there were two students who I thought made more progress with it. I had a hard time being the one to make that judgment call... I guess its called being a teacher! 

One thing I did find really useful, however, was being able to use the iPod touch for whole class discussions. There were a few times where my students were discussing Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea and they asked me historical questions I did not know the answers to. The next week, during social studies, I had the iPod touch out and ready to use as a reference guide. I allowed the students 10 minutes to ask any reasonable question they could while I looked up the answers. This proved to be a great ways to get them interested in the content and also quench their curiosity about particular issues/events/people. 

To be honest, I think I would have found my time with the iPod touch to be more fulfilling had it not come during the busiest quarter yet. I hope that I will have another opportunity to work with new technology and find more time to incorporate it into my teaching. 

Teaching Versus Exploring

This week in math class we discussed a number of things. One of which was about identifying a shape based on given information. As a group, we completed a worksheet that gave the following clues:

• It is a closed figure with four straight sides.

• One of its angles measures 45degrees.

• One of its angles measures 135degrees.

• Another angle measures 45degrees.

• Another angel measures 135degrees.

• Two of its sides are parallel.

• Its other two sides are parallel.

• All of its sides have the same length.

• Its diagonals bisect each other.

• Its diagonals are perpendicular.

And then we were asked: What is the shape?

This was a great activity in that it forced students to think about the elements of shapes and how they affect the way the shape looks. While I was completing this activity, I found myself guessing a number of different shapes and then seeing if they fit the criteria. I see this activity as a great way to get the students to look at, not only the shape that is represented, but other shapes and their elements as well. Another thing that we briefly discussed in class was the website wolframalpha.com. This is a website where the user inputs an equation or question and is given the answer. Along with the solution, work is shown and terms are defined. I found this to be a great tool and can see it being a great way to provide parents a resource that can be helpful in working with their students. While some teachers would argue that you want to make students get the answers, the reality is that this is not always possible after leaving the classroom, even after a well taught lesson. For whatever reason, students go home and forget how to properly complete math, another reality is that many students are either above their parent’s ability in math or being taught in a different way than their parents were taught. This website allows students to go online and get help with their math homework. If a student is able to clarify simple questions, they will be better prepared for completing their whole assignment.

One conversation that was brought up in class, that left me thinking, was about teaching students versus allowing students to explore. There were a number of people from class who felt like they would have been more successful with the worksheet had they been taught more background knowledge. However, I feel strongly about allowing students an opportunity to discover their own knowledge. I have found that when students can take ownership of new knowledge they become more likely to apply it to other areas of learning and exploring. After thinking about this more I have decided that it seems most logical to teach both ways. There seems to be some lessons where exploration could be really powerful and other lessons where it seems crucial to provide background information and key terms/ideas. My question then becomes: is one way of teaching more valuable, or is my assumption, that it depends, correct?