Teaching Mathematics

"The only way to learn mathematics, is to do mathematics" -Paul Halmos Bitter-sweet moment, now that math class is complete.  Going into this course in September was highly nerve wracking; starting with the math refresher course and knowing literally nothing made me feel entirely ill prepared to teach students math.  Now only 3 months later, I am about to embark on a 2 month placement with grade 7/8's wherein I am responsible to teach the entire math unit.  The best part about this, is I feel prepared! Throughout these 3 months, we all have been introduced to a plethora of fun and intriguing math activities that actually help you learn!  Further, I have learned some highly important lessons throughout this course to be mindful of when I am teaching my own students. Math Lesson #1 Welcome differences!   This is something I am entirely guilty of often neglecting.  This may be because in my own elementary school days, the way in which math quest...

"Everybody is a genius.  But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid" - Albert Einstein The way in which we conduct assessments in schools is one of the many ways the education system has changed in the 21st century.  Measuring a child's intelligence strictly by their ability to hand in a piece of work that has robust guidelines is an outdated and ineffective way to measure student success.  What about the student who is intelligent, but not engaged?  The student who excels in one subject area, but not another?  The student who has great work ethic, but marks do not reflect this.  This form of assessment does not take into account a wider range of student skills and promotes the tragedy of lost potential in students. The way in which I have seen math assessment conducted highlights this change in assessment through the emphasized importance on work habits and learning skills.  It is n...