Philosophy of Teaching Mathematics
Mathematics is one subject that is very important because everyone uses math at least one every day of their lives. In regards to teaching mathematics, a teacher must show a strong passion towards the subject to create strong mathematical minds in and out of the classroom. Students who succeed in math also succeed in areas of problem solving, critical thinking, and confidence in all areas of learning.
As a teacher, I believe that differentiating instruction is important. As a teacher I can differentiate instruction through the use of manipulatives, cooperative learning, and the integration of mathematical concepts in other subject areas helps foster learning. The use of manipulatives in the classroom have been shown as useful physical tools that help students to decipher and understand abstract concepts. An example of this could be the use of unifix cubes to understand the idea of measurement and the abstract idea of how much longer something is compared to something else. Another example that I used during my student teaching included using red and yellow counting chips to create various sums. The students enjoyed using these chips and found it helpful to see each addend as a different color. Manipulatives can be used as a great tool to aid struggling students or challenge gifted students. In the beginning of the lesson, manipulatives can help scaffold knowledge, but can be taken away after a while to help students use other strategies to understand material. This is important so students do not solely rely on the use of manipulatives to aid them in their mathematical education.
Cooperative learning is important in the mathematics as well and can have benefits such as social skills, deeper understanding of content material, and teamwork abilities. Cooperative learning allows students to work in groups and help each other to create an understanding of a specific topic. Cooperative learning can occur while working on a math game, activity, or research assignment. In my student teaching experience, I used a cooperative learning to reinforce the concept of making 10 different ways. In this activity, I had students working in groups to put together puzzles that included different ways of making different sums. Included in these pieces were pieces that did not belong to the group’s given sum. This incorporation of “trick” pieces allowed students to rely on each other to share information and complete the puzzle correctly. By interacting with peers, students can further enhance each other’s understanding of math topics and can create a community in the classroom. A classroom community that is safe, welcoming, and understanding is a necessity because this will help students stay interested in learning and will ultimately create self-motivation that will lead to student success.
Lastly, it is important to integrate mathematical concepts throughout the curriculum. Math can be used during a history lesson, a reading lesson, or a science lesson. For example, if students are learning about the pyramids in Egypt during a history lesson, students can then apply their knowledge of geometry to recognize that pyramids are a 3D shape that is composed of 4 triangle shapes and square base. Older students can also use this knowledge to calculate volume, perimeter, and area. As the teacher, during a reading lesson I can integrate math as well. I can read students a book that incorporates literary forms and concepts such as personification, fiction, metaphors, morals, characters, and setting, but also incorporates mathematical concepts. For example, if I read the book “The Greedy Triangle” by Marilyn Burns to my students, I can elaborate that it is personification because shapes cannot talk and the moral of the story is to always stay true to yourself, but I can also incorporate geometry by talking about shapes and their vertices. Overall, no matter what lesson you are teaching, math can be used within the lesson.
Due to my strength in math and my passion for teaching, I believe that I can combine the two to create a strong classroom atmosphere that can motivate my students to try their best in each and everything they do in and out of the classroom. Through different means of teaching mathematics, I also help to reach various learning styles that include kinesthetic, visual, and verbal. I have a strong passion for math, this passion will be evident in my classroom and I help that my students will share in my passion and will see how important math is in our lives every day!
Mathematics is one subject that is very important because everyone uses math at least one every day of their lives. In regards to teaching mathematics, a teacher must show a strong passion towards the subject to create strong mathematical minds in and out of the classroom. Students who succeed in math also succeed in areas of problem solving, critical thinking, and confidence in all areas of learning.
As a teacher, I believe that differentiating instruction is important. As a teacher I can differentiate instruction through the use of manipulatives, cooperative learning, and the integration of mathematical concepts in other subject areas helps foster learning. The use of manipulatives in the classroom have been shown as useful physical tools that help students to decipher and understand abstract concepts. An example of this could be the use of unifix cubes to understand the idea of measurement and the abstract idea of how much longer something is compared to something else. Another example that I used during my student teaching included using red and yellow counting chips to create various sums. The students enjoyed using these chips and found it helpful to see each addend as a different color. Manipulatives can be used as a great tool to aid struggling students or challenge gifted students. In the beginning of the lesson, manipulatives can help scaffold knowledge, but can be taken away after a while to help students use other strategies to understand material. This is important so students do not solely rely on the use of manipulatives to aid them in their mathematical education.
Cooperative learning is important in the mathematics as well and can have benefits such as social skills, deeper understanding of content material, and teamwork abilities. Cooperative learning allows students to work in groups and help each other to create an understanding of a specific topic. Cooperative learning can occur while working on a math game, activity, or research assignment. In my student teaching experience, I used a cooperative learning to reinforce the concept of making 10 different ways. In this activity, I had students working in groups to put together puzzles that included different ways of making different sums. Included in these pieces were pieces that did not belong to the group’s given sum. This incorporation of “trick” pieces allowed students to rely on each other to share information and complete the puzzle correctly. By interacting with peers, students can further enhance each other’s understanding of math topics and can create a community in the classroom. A classroom community that is safe, welcoming, and understanding is a necessity because this will help students stay interested in learning and will ultimately create self-motivation that will lead to student success.
Lastly, it is important to integrate mathematical concepts throughout the curriculum. Math can be used during a history lesson, a reading lesson, or a science lesson. For example, if students are learning about the pyramids in Egypt during a history lesson, students can then apply their knowledge of geometry to recognize that pyramids are a 3D shape that is composed of 4 triangle shapes and square base. Older students can also use this knowledge to calculate volume, perimeter, and area. As the teacher, during a reading lesson I can integrate math as well. I can read students a book that incorporates literary forms and concepts such as personification, fiction, metaphors, morals, characters, and setting, but also incorporates mathematical concepts. For example, if I read the book “The Greedy Triangle” by Marilyn Burns to my students, I can elaborate that it is personification because shapes cannot talk and the moral of the story is to always stay true to yourself, but I can also incorporate geometry by talking about shapes and their vertices. Overall, no matter what lesson you are teaching, math can be used within the lesson.
Due to my strength in math and my passion for teaching, I believe that I can combine the two to create a strong classroom atmosphere that can motivate my students to try their best in each and everything they do in and out of the classroom. Through different means of teaching mathematics, I also help to reach various learning styles that include kinesthetic, visual, and verbal. I have a strong passion for math, this passion will be evident in my classroom and I help that my students will share in my passion and will see how important math is in our lives every day!