“Sometimes the questions are
complicated and the answers are simple.”
Mathematics is not a subject that a student,
especially in the primary and elementary grades, is first to put on their
"most favourite subject" list. I know that it was definitely not mine. I believe that as future educators we must take time to reflect upon our experiences in school and
make it more positive and interesting for our students. We also need to think
about what we found effective and meaningful, while trying to create a
motivating, intriguing environment for students to learn.
In my primary years I remember all of my classrooms
having number charts, tables, and posters that showed various operations such
as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I remember using
colourful, small sized manipulatives, especially in grade two. Counters
that had two sides (yellow and red) and connector cubes that could be stuck
together were often used when learning about addition and subtraction. When the
topic about place value (ones, tens, hundreds, thousands) came up I remember
specifically learning through play. My teacher had set up a ring toss, labeled
each stick on the board (ones, tens, hundreds, thousands), and then wrote a
number on the board. A student would have to place the rings on the correct
sticks showing the place value for each number. For example, if the number was
521 then five rings would have to placed on the hundredths place, two rings
would have to be placed on the tenths place and finally one ring would be
placed in the ones place. Learning this way, involved students to get up out of
their seats, move around the classroom, and physically place rings on specific
sticks. This was a very effective teaching strategy for the teacher but most
importantly it engaged all of the students in the class. I also remember this
teacher expanding on this topic by placing the rings on the sticks herself and
having a student tell her the answer by writing it on the board. When she did
this I remember being very nervous. She was now in more control and we had to
write our answer on the chalkboard, allowing everyone to see our answer. This
pressure to get the correct answer caused me to feel very uncomfortable.
During my elementary school years I remember math
being centred on memorization, problem solving worksheets, multiplication
facts and fraction pies. Much of this work, from what I can remember was done
on worksheets and sent home that night for homework. Problem solving was always
a topic that made me feel anxious. I recall having a duo-tang folder that
contained one problem solving question per week. I always hated doing
them and became very frustrated when I could not solve the problem right away.
This caused me to become very negative towards "problem solving" as I felt very frustrated with this area of math.
As a student in the primary grades I would not of considered
myself to be "good" at mathematics. I remember as a child crying
before bed because I would not want to go to school because I hated
it. I did not like the main subjects in school and only enjoyed "fun" courses
such as gym, art, and music. However, as I grew older I believe that I developed a more confident and positive attitude towards
mathematics. Grade four was the first time that I can remember
actually enjoying math and thinking that I was indeed "good" at it.
For many of my friends’ multiplication facts were boring and waste of time.
However, I really enjoyed memorizing, writing out, and having my mom or dad ask
me my multiplication facts. In fact, I liked them that much that my mom bought me home a cassette
from her classroom with all the multiplication facts from 1-10 on it. The
cassette used a really up beat, catchy song to help you memorize each multiplication
group and I listened to it every night before bed. My teacher would use a timer when she gave us quizzes and we would have to
fill in as many correct answers as possible in a set time. Because I had memorized all of my facts and became quite "good" at them I enjoyed being timed to see how many I could get right. However, I have learned that this type of practice/strategy is
very frustrating for most children and creates immense amounts of stress and
anxiety, which causes them to perform at a very low level. I found this to be fun yet challenging but I can now see that it can be very difficult and sometimes detrimental for children.
Personally, I think that the role of my teacher in
math class was the same throughout each subject that he/she taught in the
course of a day. I do not remember if he/she showed more interest in one
subject over another and I think that time was equally distributed to each
course throughout the day. From my experience I think all of my teachers in the
primary and elementary grades did a fantastic job teaching math and did so in
the best way they thought possible. As I advanced through school I grew as a
learner and this led me to be able to understand and grasp concepts in a
mathematical way.
I have no recollection of assessment in mathematics
for primary grades. However, I do
remember getting tested and quizzed on certain concepts in grade four. The only
reason I do recall some types of assessment in this grade is because we would
have to separate our tables and put a book up around us so people could not see
our paper.
In high school I chose to do an “AP” advanced placement program.
This meant that I would take all the second level science and math courses
during my first year in school, allowing me to finish my course requirements
early and take some university courses. During this time I enjoyed all of the
courses I was completing, including math. However, high school soon became a
time in my life where math was not a priority and friends, boyfriends,
parties, and sports, became more important to me.
Entering university was a big step for me from high
school. I took four courses my first semester that included Math 1090. Being
out of school less than four months, and not knowing what I want to do in
university was very frustrating. I soon came to realize that I was not at all interested in
being in a lecture hall with 300 people doing math on an overhead projector
from a professor who seemed to be very “dated”. I ended up failing that course and then
proceeded to take Math 1050 and Math 1051 a couple of semesters later.
I began tutoring math to a young boy in grade five three years
ago. I feel that this engagement with teaching as well as mathematics has impacted my
life in major ways. It has influenced my decision to become a teacher and my desire to want to help children
learn to the best of their abilities. I feel that since I have been tutoring
mathematics I am more confident in my abilities as a future teacher as well. I
want to help students realize their potential and want them to have positive,
engaging experiences in mathematics.
My feelings towards mathematics are very different from when I first entered school. I think that tutoring has contributed to a
great deal of my confidence in being able to do, teach, and explain math. I am
really looking forward to learning new ways to teach mathematics and becoming
that inspirational teacher that each of us strives to be.
- Penney
