Mathematics Week 2 and 3

MATHEMATICS WEEK 2 AND 3

I believe that the overall message to be taken away from learning to teach math in today’s day and age is that it should be collaborative, interactive, engaging, and open to a plethora of strategies for finding the correct answer to a problem. There can be many different roads taken to reach the same destination. However, so far we have delved into some key aspects for teaching mathematics, which are the strands and processes that teachers will impart to their students. The mathematical process is crucial in order to increase the learning efficiency of students. It starts with problem solving, then reasoning and proving, reflecting, selecting tools and computational strategies, connecting, representing, and communicating. This process is inherently linked to the Ontario curriculum’s expectations of students as they progress from grade 1 to 8. 

For teachers there is a strategy for teaching math, which can help students understand how to better approach mathematical problems that are challenging. As educators we can formulate a minds on, engaging activity for the students and allow them to work collaboratively in groups or pairs. Students must then be challenged to consolidate and connect the new information that they have absorbed. This can be achieved by encouraging a community of learning within the classroom where students summarize their main ideas, leading to further class discussion. So far in my own experience of learning how to teach math, this strategy is something that we have practiced in the classroom and definitely seems quite effective. Some ways that a teacher can achieve this in a fun, engaging manner is to set up a Math Congress activity or the Bansho activity, which comes from Japanese educational practice. We must help students connect new ideas to previous ones and our lessons should certainly include an engaging, creative aspect.

Another important lesson for educators when teaching math is to always encourage multiple algorithms or procedures when attempting to solve a mathematical problem. Whether it is addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, there are a variety of methods that a student can use to discover the answer. The Ontario curriculum also specifically states that students must be taught to approach mathematical problems from a wide variety of angles. Not all students think the same and one type of mathematical procedure may only benefit certain students, while other students respond better to a different way. In addition, it also fosters a better understanding for students that there are many different ways to solve a problem, a lesson that can be extended far beyond mathematics. I discovered that there are so many different ways to come up with the same answer when it comes to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Students need to be aware of this as it can be fundamental to a proper understanding of mathematics and can be vital for some students to enhance their learning experience.