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Inspire
Professional Learning and Student Learning in MathematicsA Grade Five/Six Huron Perth Teacher's PerspectiveBy Kim Buchanan
With every year of additional teaching experience, I become more confident in my abilities to try new and different methods of trying to convey a mathematical concept. Just when I think I have a lesson 'down pat', I discover that it is often just the opposite. The intended lesson or outcome, or the skill that I was trying to uncover, did not go exactly as I had planned. I am constantly reminded that each group of students brings forth their own ideas and conceptual knowledge, or lack of conceptual knowledge to the lesson that, sometimes, I neglect to consider. I have no hard and fast rules as a teacher of combined grade mathematics. I am constantly trying new things, talking to colleagues, teachers at my school, and trying to come up with improved methods of teaching and learning. Admittedly, some lessons are always better than others. The more time that I spend considering how each of my students learn best, what they do well or do not do very well, what I understand well, and then taking that into consideration when planning my lessons, almost always leads to better results. Time is, however, always a factor in planning my math instruction. I find that there are a few reasons why I am interested in studying mathematics for teaching. I feel that there is much disagreement on what teachers need to know in order to teach mathematics. Do we simply need to know the math that we are expected to teach at our grade level? I was a fairly confident math student who did relatively well in math, although not without much hard work and struggle to understand some of the more difficult concepts as a student. Is that sufficient understanding for me as a teacher of mathematics? Certainly, a deep compressed understanding of conceptual and procedural mathematics as an adult is very different than the current mathematical understanding of most of the students in my classroom. Understanding 'how' students best learn and gain their own deep understanding of mathematics can only aid in my teaching practices. Knowing what it feels like to struggle, and to try more than one way to solve, explain and understand a concept proves very useful in my teaching. I am interested in trying to build the best possible instructional tasks and assignments to assist myself and my students in our long term math journey. |
As a combined teacher of mathematics, I find myself continually questioning and trying to come up with the best possible methods for teaching my students. This is always a complex and ever evolving process for me, and I never seem to teach a concept the same way twice.