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.
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