To know or to understand

Another math class has come and gone and with that my thoughts on how to teach math have expanded again. Over the course of the math class one statement stood out from the rest, “Brains only grow when they make mistakes.” This statement made me reflect on my math education but also how I will teach math going forward. As a student math was always about getting the correct answer and mistakes were seen as bad. This statement changes how I view mistakes and how as a teacher I can use mistakes in the classroom. Mistakes should not be something that a students is punished for as it was when I was a student. Instead mistakes should be used as a stepping stone in learning. If a student is never making mistakes then they are not challenging themselves enough. We want students to push the boundaries of their comfort zones and make those mistakes in math and all subjects so that their knowledge base can grow.

Throughout the class knowing/doing vs understanding was also a topic that was brought up quite often. As a class we watched the above video.The video asked the students to answer a question that they were not given enough information for. Many students tried to formulate an answer using mathematical processes that they had previously been taught. When students don’t understand the problem that is given to them they are likely to give answer using a formula they have been taught but don’t understand. As teachers we need to teach students to understand the problem first before trying to answer the problem numerically. If the students are able to understand the problem and all the parts that are associated with it they will be able to better answer the question.

The last part of class that had an impact on me was two in class activities that we completed. The average number of hats and how many owls were both activities that shown my growth in math. If I were to do these activities in the previous year I would have created a mental picture or done the math in my head. This year I find myself drawing the pictures or completing the math using manipulatives. As a teacher I now appreciate how useful manipulatives can be. The use of manipulatives can help the students contextualize the problem and find different ways to get an answer. The appreciation for manipulatives will also have an impact on the way that I will teach my class. I will ensure that my students are not required to do math the way that I was taught. Instead of paper and pencil mathematics I will ensure that my students have multiple resources available to them during math lessons. While giving the students the resources I will also encourage and model the use of the manipulatives throughout.

via: EDBE 8P54

Via: EDBE 8P54

 

This math class challenged my thinking and taught me valuable ideas that I can bring into a classroom.