A Reflection of Math

Abstract
As I reflect back on this course all I see are added benefits. As teachers we are always learning through new experience and materials. MTH156 was a very helpful course which enabled us to learn mathematical procedures and effectively utilize them in the classroom. The art of becoming a teacher is rewarding all on its own. The joys and thrills of holding your students’ knowledge in your hands is an awesome feeling. Most of all, it is your ability to learn more through the experience and through your students. This class focused on not only the Mathematical skills, but also how to teach math. The discussions opened a room full of ideas, and suggestion. Math overall is a very complex subject to teach, being prepared is to know how to do the problems before presenting them to your students.

A Reflection of Math
Through a student’s prospective I personally I struggled with Math, I myself was a child that suffered from a learning disorder call Dyslexia. I had problems keeping order when it comes to solving problems. Word problems would be portrayed differently and I would almost always write the problem wrong. After hiring a tutor (who also specialized in Dyslexia) taught me tricks that would make my life easier. For example writing out the order of operation (P.E.M.D.A.S ) on top of assignments helped to see if I am keeping order. These tricks helped me a lot in this course as well. I feel that the most important thing that was covered in this class was not really the math work, but more so on how to teach and structure a math class. As per the subject in question, I felt that every text assignment problems had something that I was uncertain about and taught me ways to solve them. For example I thought learning about sets and the Vaughn Diagram was interesting. When I was in school we never learned through a chart.

Now I know how to dissect the word problem into this diagram which makes it easier, and how to teach our students to use the diagram as well. I wanted to test what I have learned, in this class on someone who is currently a student. My youngest brother took me up on my offer. I created a worksheet with problems that were found in out text problems, since he is in the high school level it should have been easier to teach. I started with sets, and then moved on to rounding, then to input and output, and finally some word problems related to evaluating. From there I found that it is very difficult to teach Math. You as the teacher have to fully understand the material prior to teaching it. He asked me so many questions; some questions I did not know existed when working the problem. I know he meant to give me a hard time, but in reality I needed to be prepared to answer any questions pertaining to the material so that it gives my students no room for questioning.

I felt that the discussion questions really helped with ideas to make math a more interactive learning experience for our future students. From searching for resources that could assist you in teaching your students, to playing interactive online games it shows us teachers that there is more than one way to teach Math that is outside the box. Simplicity is the key to math. Teaching the students on their level using different materials such as manipulatives and small tips could make a world of difference.

Overall, the main objective of this course was to learn Mathematics, understand the concepts, and learn how to execute and teach math to your students. Being a teacher means to be a vessel of learning. Students have different ways of learning, trying to accommodate all these learning styles will only help us as educators learn to adapt to different situations. Having the knowledge to go far and beyond to assist our students is all a part of our job description. It was a pleasure to be in this class and take a small journey to what I felt was well needed. Now I am one step closer to reality as a teacher and given the information from this class it will help me as a person and as an educator to be more open minded with ways of teaching.

Resources
Billstein, R., Libeskind, S., & Lott, J. (2010). A Problem Solving Approach to Mathematics for Elementary School Teacher (10th ed.). Addison-Wesley.