Guess Who’s Back, Back Again, Primeau Math, Tell a Friend

                 A wise man in a HBO television show once stated that “time is a flat circle”, meaning that it is cyclical, destined to repeat itself. So here I am again, asked to blog about math, but this time it is very different. Following the completion of my first year math course, as well as my time teaching Grade 7 and 8 math during my first year placement, I emerged on the other side feeling very good about my effectiveness of being a math teacher.

                During my placement, I was able to embrace my role as a math teacher and focused on keeping my students engaged via blended learning and more group work than they were use too in math class. I put forward a lot of effort in order to be the best instructor I could be. I wanted to be open with my lack of experience when it came to math in general with my students. I never wanted to give off the impression that I was not qualified to teach them, but I wanted them to understand that the class and I were learning more and more about math together. I think this type of relationship is important in teaching, especially for the later grades as it allows teacher to develop more of a learning community in the classroom instead of an environment that is based on hierarchical order.  I want to continue this way of thinking throughout my time in my year two Math course.

                During the online section for this week, there was a lot of focus on combating myths and stereotypes society and the education system has developed when it comes to math. One of the most important skills I think students need to work on when it comes to math class, is their ability to communicate to the instructor what issues they are having with a specific process. All too often in my placement I observed students ask for help, but they could not communicate what aspect of what they were trying to do that was so hard to them. I attempted to combat this phenomenon by keeping my lesson engaging, but also focused on scaffolding my lessons so all students could learn at their own pace. 

14 Virtual Tools for the Math Classroom

A main goal I have for this year’s math class is to develop more knowledge on the use of virtual learning for math. Last year I was exposed to numerous online math games and platforms, it was as overwhelming as it was useful. I want to use this year to find what tools I really like to use and would be best for constant use for students. All too often I found these online games could only be used as a time filler for students who finished their work quickly. Author Monica Burns complied a short list of what she considers effective virtual math tools, all of which I would consider as being great tools for classrooms. One tool in particular ,an app based tool called Geoboard , allows students to create and manipulate shapes of all sizes and types for the students to gather and develop better understanding of geometric skills.

                I really look forward to the next weeks, as I know I will be exposed to more and more tools and strategies that can make me a better teacher. So let’s do this!