Final Thought on the Mathematics Lesson Journey

Whoa! Time flies. The Mathematics journey has ended. It was a module that I had expected to be very BORING. Everytime I had Mathematics lessons from primary to secondary school it was very slow and I would not understand the lesson. The lessons for my BSC05 Mathematics was a pleasant one. It was an eye-opener. Thoroughout the module, I was exposed to different types of lessons and was given opportunity to explain or discuss with one another about solving the problems. The class came out with different solutions for each problem that we were asked to solve. It was a new experience for me as there was no right or wrong answer instead the class came out with different solutions to solve the problems, I did not get the answers from the lecturers.

The experinces for this module has motivated me to bring such lessons in the classroom to encourage children to come out with different ways to solve a problem. I feel that this will encourage children to be more independent and will definitely build up their confidences in Mathematics that will help them later in the future.

The journey ends here, but my learning will not and never ends as I will strive to always learn new things that I could use in my own classroom.

Reflection on 3rd Class Session - 24 August 2011

The class was introduced to 'Lesson Study'. I have heard about it before, but I was not sure what it is really about. Now, I am more aware about it. 'Lesson Study' is actually about making improvement to lesson so that teachers can deliver the lesson to their best and children can learn to the fullest. 'Lesson Study' is a group effort to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a lesson. It provides teachers with opportunities to make changes to their teaching strategies and improve their questioning technique in their lesson. Teachers can examine their lesson systematically with the help of other teachers.

The class ended with a homework using Tangrams to create triangles and squares using different number of Tangrams pieces. It was a good experience as I had the opportunity to manipulate with the Tangrams pieces in trying to get them to the required shapes that is triangle and square. 

Looking forward to the next class!

Reflection on 2nd Class - 23 August 2011

Tuesday's lesson was an eye-opener. I realized that there are few ways to solving problems in Mathematics. It is not only about the answer but also the process of getting the solution. Children should be able to be given the opportunity to understand the mathematical process by using Jerome Bruner's CPA Approach by allowing them to learn and experience from concrete, to pictorial and then abstract. The approach allows children to manipulate with concrete materials as they will be able to learn through trial and error. Next they should be given the opportunities to move to pictorial and then proceed to abstract. I feel that the approach will allow children to learn at their own pace and learn from their mistakes.

The dice game is one interesting game that I had shared with my colleagues. I was intrigued that the Primary One children was able to come out with different ideas for the solutions and they did not give up. As I watched the video, I was thinking about what can I do with the children in my classroom to provide them with opportunities to come out with different ideas to mathematical problems. I feel that children should be given opportunities to explore instead of waiting for the solution and answer to any problem as they will learn through their mistakes. the teacher's role is to facilitate their learning by asking the correct questions that will help them to think further.

I am more motivated to try out new and challenging activities with the children in my classroom!
See u soon!

Reflection on 1st Class - 22 August 2011

When I walked into the class for the first session, I was asking myself what will I be learning today? Will the topic be fun and interesting? I have always thought that Mathematics especially algebra to be one of the hardest subject that I have to take during my school years. I would always have difficulty in understanding the formulas in algebra. I really hated the topic on algebra. The teachers that I had was not motivating or encouraging. They would just go on and on and would leave the weaker students behind without helping.

The first session was an AWESOME experience for me. It was a fun and challenging experience. We were given four problems to solve and were encouraged to talk and discuss about ways to come out with solution to solve the problem. It provided me with opportunities to discuss with my team about ways to solve the problems. My team was trying our very best to solve the problems and never thought of giving up. For every problem that we had to solve, the class come out with a few methods. I was learning from the other about how to solve the problems.

  I really like the the 'Poker Card' activity. I was really engrossed with my partner to solve the 'MAGIC'. We were trying out different ways of the solving the problem and in the end we manage to SOLVE it. I even showed and shared the activity with my colleague today and they are still trying to solve the problem. 

Something new that I have learn from the class session was about the prerequisite to counting. Children need to be able to first classify,  second to rote count,  third to count with correspondence and  lastly must be able to appreciate that the last number counted in a group is the final answer.

I am looking forward to the class tonight! Hope to learn new and interesting things. See you soon!

Reflection for Chapter 1 and 2

Reading chapter one and two has made me reflect back that children learn when they are given opportunities to explore. They do not learn concepts just by hearing and writing it, but they need to be given time to construct an understanding of the concepts by exploring and manipulating with the concrete objects. The process of learning is different for every child so it is important for teachers to develop the children’s learning experiences gradually from simple to complex and from concrete to symbolic.

The Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (p.2) stated the six principles are the fundamentals to high-quality of mathematics education. The principles are intertwined with one another to achieve higher standards of mathematics education. It has make me realized that mathematic education is much more that just writing or counting numbers. It involves the teachers to provide support to the children, have teachers who can understand what children know and need to learn, have a mathematic curriculum that is coherent and focused on mathematics, provide children with opportunities to actively build or learn new knowledge, have assessment that support the children and teachers and allowing the use of technology in teaching mathematics.

The teachers play an important role when providing children with Mathematics lesson in the classroom. They have to be knowledgeable in mathematics, be persistence in allowing children to investigate mathematical concepts, have a positive attitude, be ready for change and be reflective.

As a teacher in an early childhood education, I believe that every child is a unique individual and each child has different needs and interest, learn differently and develop at different rate so it is important to provide the children with equal opportunities to explore and make choices throughout their mathematics learning experiences. The environment should be interesting, rich and positive to allow children to express their ideas, thoughts and opinion confidently. The activities conducted should provide children with opportunities to explore with mathematical concepts that they are learning allowing them to learn to their fullest capacity.

I am looking forward to the week ahead as I know that I will be learning new things about Mathematics that I will be able to apply to my own class.

Reference:

Van De Walle, J. A., Karp. K. S. & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2010). Elementary & Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally (7th ed.). USA: Allyn & Bacon, Pearson International

First time on the Blog

Hi,

I am Maslinda from BSC05.  This is my very first time creating a Blog. I am rather nervous but will try my very best as would like to take the challenge to try new things. So look out for this space.

Cheers,
Maslinda