The
article “Adolescent Learning and Secondary Mathematics” stressed that an important part of teaching is
creating a positive and engaging classroom environment for
students. According to the article, this can be done by introducing more group
work, giving attention to students’ ideas and interests, and using their social
world to produce more engaged learners. I agree with these ideas as a means to
increase engagement because I had success using similar techniques in the grade
11 Math class I was teaching during my first practicum. I found it very beneficial to get to know the
students, and incorporate their personal
interests into the lessons I was teaching, as well as their homework
questions. Simply integrating the students’ names into the word problems and
creating math questions around their favourite sport or TV show really captured
their interest in learning mathematics. Not only did I notice an improvement in
their engagement and participation in my class, but in addition the students
appeared to be in a good mood, resulting in a positive classroom environment.
It was amazing to see what a positive impact showing the students you care has on their whole attitude toward
learning.
Another
key point that the article addresses is cognitive
bullying, which describes the kind of teaching that ignores or negates the
way a student thinks, imposes unnatural thought processes, undermines the
students’ effort, and causes stress. These actions are reoccurring over time.
Ultimately, cognitive bullying contributes to generating fear and anxiety over
certain mathematical concepts due to the students’ negative experiences in the
classroom, and this negatively impacts their learning. As a student, I was
fortunate enough to have teachers who were very open to using a variety of
methods to solve mathematical problems, and they did not force students to only
approach a problem the way it was being taught. I recall using different
methods than my teachers on a number of occasions and asking them if my methods
were acceptable. After checking my work, my teachers approved the techniques I
used and provided positive feedback and encouragement for trying something new,
as oppose to disregarding my work and telling me to do it “their way”. As a
result of these positive experiences,
I was able to grow as a learner and I was inspired to explore many methods of
solving different math problems.
As a teacher, it is very important to get to
know your students and structure your lessons around their learning needs.
Students in your classroom will not all learn the same way; therefore differentiated instruction is very
important. Teachers must have patients and work on building students self-esteem when teaching mathematics, especially
with the weaker students. Sometimes knowing that someone believes in you, and
wants you to succeed is all the motivation needed in order for a student to be in
the right mind frame and willing to learn math. According to the article, an
effective way to build the students confidence is by starting a task with
something they know fairly well, and continuously building off of that to teach
a new concept. This approach recognizes learners’ existing knowledge, and offers
the opportunity to add more information to their preexisting knowledge base. By
building up the learners’ self-esteem first, it is more likely that they will
be open to learning the new material and feel empowered to succeed.
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