Reflections on Session 4

Tonight's session touched on fractions and how we use language to teach children. I've always thought that we teach children fractions by saying 3/5 (three over five) but apparently I've been wrong all this while. One important fact that I learnt was: all equal parts in fraction can be named, and after listening to Dr Yeap's explanation, I truly understood fractions for the first time.

Another important fact that I learnt was to try to avoid the  "key-word strategy" as it trains the child to respond incorrectly when they see certain key-words e.g. the word 'more' can usually means to add, however, depending on how the mathematical problem is phrased, it could actually require the child to subtract.

This session has been very helpful and I now understand the basics of fractions a little better.

Reflections on Session 3

The cubes lesson was interesting as we learnt about teaching children the concept of conservation of numbers and that no matter what shape it is, there are still only 5 cubes. This is my group's creations of the different structures that we had to create.

We also watched 3 videos on "Lesson Study" which required us to critically look at the lesson and teaching paedogogy. After the video, we had to write down a positive trait about the lesson and a suggestion for improvement. All our responses were then grouped into different catergories.

Lesson study is the recent trend in professional development where teachers are actively engaged to examine their lesson plans. This is another approach for teachers to continue developing professionally instead of attending seminars, workshops and lectures.

Reflections on Session 2

Today I learnt that there are 5 elements in developing problem solving and thinking skills.

1. Generalization (looking for patterns, relationships and connections)
2. Visualization 
3. Communication (reasoning, justification, representation )
4. Number sense
5. Metacognition

Upon reflection on these 5 elements, I do agree that these 5 are important components that help a student understand the problem and work out a solution justifying the rationale behind it. When a student has accomplished or achieved these 5 elements, will they be able to master their problem solving and thinking skills.


Lesson 6 was very interesting as we learnt about probability and decide which were the bad numbers that would make us lose. We decided that the bad numbers were multiples of 3. 

Lesson 7 was my favourite as we tried to make the largest even number as Dr Yeap called out each number that was on the spinner. This is a very fun and interesting way of teaching the children the concept of largest even number.  

 

Reflections on Session 1

I've always hated maths and was feeling butterflies in my tummy while coming in for the first lesson. It was a pleasant suprise that I felt a tiny bit of interest and enthusiam at the end of the lesson. Dr. Yeap made the lesson so interesting and hands-on that I didn't feel like I was made to solve maths problems that made me feel stupid.

I especially loved the spelling card trick and was so excited on learning this cool trick that I showed it to my children aged 4 & 7 this morning and they were so impressed. I taught the older one how to figure out the arrangements of the cards and she took it a step further and arranged it backwards too. The arrangment of the cards done backwards are 2,8,3,5,9,6,4,1,7. 

This lesson made me reflect on the importance of being a teacher and how it affects the students that we teach. If Dr. Yeap could make me (a die-hard hater of maths) to actually change my opinion a little, that could make a whole world of a difference in a child's life. As teachers we need to constantly reflect on our teaching practices and evaluate the responses from the students. We play a part in molding the future of tomorrow.

Assignment 1

Chapter 1 - Teaching Mathematics in the Era of the NCTM Standards

The first chapter focuses on the changes in the current mathematics standards and the guiding principles in how mathematics should be taught. I agree that the most important tools in teaching children mathematics are: our knowledge of mathematics and how children learn mathematics. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is an organization of teachers and mathematics educators who are implementing changes to the content and the way mathematics is being taught. This allows students to see that mathematics is useful and make connections to the real world.

The Six Principles

The six guiding principles that are fundamental to high-quality mathematics education are:

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The Five Content Standards

There has been a new emphasis on preschool which recognizes the need to highlight the critical years before children enter kindergarten. The five content standards are:

• Number and Operations
• Algebra
• Geometry
• Measurement
• Data Analysis and Probability

Each content standard includes a small set of goals applicable to the four grade bands: pre-K - 2, grade 3 - 5, 6 - 8 and 9 - 12. Even though these five content standards apply across all the grades, we should be mindful that each strand does not have an equal emphasis for each grade band.

The Five Process Standards

The five process standards refer to the mathemtical process thorugh which students should acquire and use mathematical knowledge.

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Shifts In The Classroom Environment

There are major shifts in the environment of the mathematics classroom that are neccessary to allow students to develop mathematical understanding. These are postive changes which complement the guiding principles in the way mathematical concepts should be taught.

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Chapter 2 - Exploring What It Means to Know and Do Mathematics

As I was reading Chapter Two, I had flashbacks of how mathematics was being taught to me. I mainly learnt mathematics through memorization. The questions that I posed to either the teacher or my parents were meet with curt remarks of "Just memorize it! Is that so difficult?" I started hating mathematics because I did not understand what was going on. I did not see the connections between mathematics and the real world. 

This chapter has given lots of examples of how mathematics can be taught and has sparked my interest in this subject. I am beginning to enjoy doing of the activities that the author has provided and somehow I keep thinking to myself: if only I wasn't taught mathematics the old-fashioned way, I may have grown up being interested and more enthusiatic whenever I had a Mathematics lesson in school.

I agree with the author that by providing opportunities for students to connect the dots between theory and practice helps them develop their own network of blue dots. And by challenging students to think critically and creatively,  we raise future leaders who are able to reason, justify and rationalize.