My first choice for teaching would be middle school geometry teacher. This is mostly covered in 7th grade. My back ground in design and construction lend itself very well to this subject. I think this allows me to make connections between geometry and the real world application fairly easy. I have also worked in business for the past 11 years and can connect some basic business practices to mathematics.
In my free time I enjoy camping, hiking, fishing and being outdoors when the weather is nice. I am not a huge sports fan but baseball is fun to go see. It also can be used for teaching math. When I was in middle school in the 1980s, I took sports statistics as a math class and I learned to keep score at baseball games and football games. This was very fun and although I have forgotten many of the methods this would be a great way to for students to collect data or analyze statistics for probability. I would like to have introductory lessons similar to this for many of my lessons. I feel these would play to students interests and connect the lessons more concretely to real life.
My graphic design experience makes me fairly fluent on a computer and I prefer the Mac platform. I spend to much of my free time playing video games. Mostly FPS style games although sometimes a good RPG adventure game comes along. I have a dog and two cats and live with 3.5 other people. Both of these interests lend themselves to teaching geometry and algebra. Most students have some sort of interest in games and many are geared solely to preteens. Again you can use them for data collection or simply making connections between computer graphics and the mathematics behind them helps students make connections between what they are learning and possible job avenues for them in the future. It also makes it fun if you assign video game playing as homework in order for students to track points and achievement for use in class.
Math is not Linear and this prezi illustrates that point brilliantly. I agree that math touches so many facets of our day to day life and is so expansive that to teach it without context is like learning to use a computer without having one to work with (this has been done). Connecting previous knowledge is the obvious part of the equation, but I really appreciated that she talked about making connections to future learning. Understanding how what they learned in grade school builds a foundation for what they will learn in high school as well as use in future occupations. Giving them examples from calculus and algebra that connects to the geometry I am teaching. It gets students to think ahead in life and make connections to the fact that it does get easier and more obvious.
The Jump model of teaching math made a lot of sense to me and I have tried to use something similar when helping students with math work in classes I have volunteered in. Breaking every problem up into smaller problems helps show how working on even the hardest problem can be simplified. I also recently used an iPad app called AlgebraTouch that shows you how to break up algebra problems into different components using simple “one-touch” demonstrations. It makes these problems very easy and is very fun to work with. This video didn’t go into as much detail about the Jump method but I did download one of the free sample worksheets and it looks like it demonstrates this strategy very well.
The flip classroom is a good way to set up any classroom that would normally be lecture centered. It gives students a chance to have access to the teacher when working on real problems. It does let students watch the lectures at their own pace and I would add links from a blog that would allow teacher interaction as well as peer support and interaction. In addition giving students journals for which to make notes on and write questions they could bring to class would help them to bridge between the videos and classwork. These journals could also be used to collect data for use in lessons. For instance video game scores for use in statistics analysis. You could use it in bridged classrooms where multiple levels are being taught at once, letting students watch Kahn Academy to get a second perspective on the lesson would in my opinion be a great idea. It would also be important to advocate and apply for funding for students who could not afford technology in their homes. Setting up some way to check out technology or making sure it is available for mobile application.
I have often heard that practice makes perfect. I have also heard second hand that if you do anything for 10,000 hours before you become an adult, you will reach genius level in that subject. Both point out that it is possible for every kid to be an all-star if they just put their mind to it and practice. I also like the idea of breaking up the subject, especially math, into chunks and practicing pieces individually, and eventually putting it back together in a whole learning environment. This gives students connection between the small pieces and how they fit into the bigger picture. I hope to use this method in my teaching. I feel that math is like learning a second language and that it needs to be practiced in context to become proficient.
The best practices in education that stand out for me are Differentiation, Ecology, Problem Development, Clear and Common Focus, High Standards and Supportive Learning in no particular order. Differentiation refers to attacking problems from different points of view and different levels of understanding. Not all students learn at the same rate or have the same learning styles. It is very important to me to offer students different ways to show they their understanding and learn in the way that suits them both. Ecology might be my favorite. I think that taking math or any other material out of the vacuum of the text book and applying it to real-world problems or situations makes better learning. Making those connections are key to answer that age old question of “why do I need to know this”. It also helps when trying to engage students. Using their interests as learning experiences helps them to internalize the information. Along with this Problem Development gets students to think backwards and reflect on where the instruction can be used. It forces them to make the connections and allows for critical thinking. Having a Clear and Common Focus, from teacher, student, parents, administrator and staff makes sure everyone effected is on the same page. Teachers as well as Students need commitment from parents and administrators because they are the support system that reinforces learning. High Standards ensures that not only is everyone held to the same standard but that each person, teachers included, are working at their best level. Students who are challenged within their Zone of Proximal Development achieve at a higher rate than students who are not. Supportive Learning provides a positive, safe environment for all students to participate and learn.
“Practice can not be separated from theory” in that what we learn must be what we teach. As we as educators teach we must constantly be learning as well. This seemingly simple idea sometimes get lost as we set into our day to day routine. Learning about our students, and their worlds, learning new strategies, learning new ways to connect our lessons to the outside world, these are ways we can continue to develop as educators. Several principles for instruction that I think are important are: Allowing for errors, provide students to learn as they go. Provide for immediate relevance and make it obvious, the connections between your lesson and the your students future. And make Instruction learner centered so that students drive the learning and hopefully demand a high quality education.
I feel that a hybrid classroom that included these aspects in a cohesive learning environment are essential to setting up students for success. A classroom where students come in prepared for class and excited about learning may seem like a difficult task but I think it is achievable. Lessons that immerse the student in the subject and connect him/her to their future, engage them and motivate them to learn what I will be teaching. Lessons that implore interaction gives students the desire to learn mathematics and make it relevant.
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