- Importance of student-led learning - we read articles about never saying anything a kid can say, about allowing students to participate in group-worthy tasks, etc. A big idea for me as I go forward is to think about how I can incorporate more math talk and student conferencing in my teaching.
- Manipulatives/software - I learned about tons of new manipulative and software tools: GeoSketch, Fathom, TinkerPlots, Wolframalpha, tangrams, miras, Gapminder, just to name a few. Definitely more aware of some great resources for teaching math.
- Trusting myself to take what I've learned and grow from it - some of my favorite lessons have been the ones that included a bit of a philosophy lecture. It's nice to know that we won't be expected to be able to magically incorporate all of these tools at once. I was reminded of the importance to take the time to breathe and think about how to incorporate one thing at a time.
- Thinking about myself and my own mathematical identity - I realized this quarter that I know much more math than I gave myself credit for. I constrained my math thinking to a narrow focus, but our work has helped me broaden my thinking. As I move forward, I will work to keep an open mind about my students' mathematical thinking and work to help them see themselves as mathematicians.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Final Math Post
As I reflect on the quarter, both in my brain and in my blog, a few points jump out at me.
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I love your comment about keepint an open mind about our students' mathematical thinking. Both of our math classes really stressed the importance of seeing the many ways in which students are good at math - and I agree with you that we should apply that thinking to ourselves. This also makes me think that there are many ways to be good teachers too! Perhaps effective teaching is all about an open mind for so many reasons!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! It has been a privilege to be your teacher.
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