Personal Reflection … Two Stars and A Wish … November 17-22nd, 2015

Personal Reflection for Math 4173 X1: My Learning & Growth

         When I first started this course in September, I was unaware of how much the teaching of mathematics had changed since I was a child. Even though, I had been a school volunteer much of my work centred in the area of Resource for Language Arts or helping during Middle School Social Studies. What is impressive is the numerous ways that children are being taught to express their math work. Being exposed to the pentomino puzzle as well as to the video of Ms. T. Oliver has taught me that teaching math to our students should be an enjoyable experience that is makes learning fun for the children.  

        My growth has gone from the mindset of no longer wanting to use Math worksheets. Looking back to my elementary school days, I had never enjoyed doing math in this way, but we were not exposed as children to other ways of doing math. As a teacher, my classroom will not be quiet, but would be a busy, active learning environment in which children have opportunities to work collaborately in groups, and also with manipulatives. I believe that the use of manipulatives not only improves learning, but also opens the door to children learning other problem solving techniques that will grow with them. In my class children will no longer learn by rote memory, but through being actively engaged learners. They will have many opportunities to express their work in engaging, insightful ways.

        The fundamental role that literacy can play in math was also an eye-opener. Through this course, we were exposed to many books containing stories that appeal to both children and adults. As a teacher, I would appreciate being able to incorporate both math and language arts into a lesson. It was interesting to learn how this can be done!

         Lastly, my learning throughout this course has grown through leaps and bounds. I’m grateful to have had the opportunities to work alone, with a partner, and with groups to expand on my understanding of elementary math. I had not realized that there was such a degree of mathematics material through visual arts, literacy, through computer, and other games that can expand on children’s learning. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to take this course, because it has enabled me to be better prepared to teach math to children.

Two Stars and A Wish

Two Stars

1. I have worked well on my weekly math journal.

2. Another area that I have worked well on is in my class work.

One Wish

I need to work on improving on my problem solving.

Personal Reflection – Mental Math – November 3-7, 2015

        When, I came to Tuesday’s Math class, I was excited to see the “Hit the Button” game on the Smart Board. I feel that games can be useful for helping children by reinforcing their Math skills, because children learn through play.  This particular game would be helpful for children to recall division facts and times tables whilst building on skills such as doubles and halves, and also number bonds.

        We received our picture book drafts back. I was very pleased with my mark, because, I was not certain if I had done the assignment correctly. It was also important for me to understand where improvements were required. Jill’s assessment technique, “the three questions,” was helpful in giving us a better understanding of our own work along with the necessary changes that needed to be made.

        Tuesday’s class about Mental Math was certainly a busy night of learning. I found the class to be insightful in a number of ways. We were provided with a definition for Mental Math and Estimation that gave us a better understanding of what is involved when a child is learning Mental Math. I found the Mental Math P-3 sheet to be helpful in defining time allotments for both the Mental Math and the Math Block, and also for providing suggestions that will better help us to the integrate blocks.

      

          Math has always been challenging for me. Therefore, I was satisfied with the explanation provided by Amy about, ”Memorizing a sentence in which words have meaning.” Children in the not so distant past, had experienced learning Math through memorization, but this fails to teach children that there are many pathways to learning Math.  When children are taught Mental Math each school day this teaching expands their learning horizons. It was an eye-opener to learn how many math and number concepts that children would need to learn in Grade Primary to help them with their Mental Math in Grade 1.

        My favourite resource from our Math night was the Rekenrek.  I was absolutely astonished by the number of ways that we as teachers can help children master basic math through this handy little device. I admit as a child that I also would have found it enticing to use the Rekenrek as a toy!   

When I was attending elementary school children at that time were not taught Math through such a variety of ways.  I think that I would have developed a better understanding of Math concepts had these learning opportunities been available to my peers and myself. What I take away from our Mental Math class is the concrete, pictorial, symbolic, and oral methods that can be used to help children learn Math.  This is essential, because all children learn differently.

         Learning about the Mental Math Facts was certainly interesting. I had no idea that there were so many facts for addition alone. My favourite facts were Next Number, because this was simply about remembering the number that came next. I also liked the One Aparts, because the child would remember that it is doubles plus one. Such as:

5=6 becomes 5+5, next number = 13

The Plus 2’s were also neat to learn about, because a child would simply need to know that its about the “next Even” or “next Odd” number. For example, you could say:

“If I say 5 … you say 7.”

“If I say 2 … you say 4.”

It’s understandable that the little ones would be confused about learning the “add zeros.” I would be interested in observing how the children develop their strategies for mastering these facts especially for The Last Six.

        The partner bingo game would be an excellent activity for a child to take home as homework.  Even though the game we played in class cannot be won this would still be an engaging learning game for our children.

Class 7: Personal Reflection - Week of October 27-31, 2015

Personal Reflection - Week of October 27- October 31, 2015

        Class began with a visit to the Bedtime Math website. We were encouraged to do the Pumpkin Face Off! Activity. 

http://bedtimemath.org/fun-math-pumpkin-carving/

This served as a good site for introducing technology night to us. I had not seen Bedtime Math before. It would be a great site to use with elementary students in the classroom, because each day there is a new problem provided. One aspect that I did not like is that the author divides the children by wee ones, little kids, and big kids. If an older child were struggling with Math, he or she might be only able to to complete the wee ones problems. This may make them feel alack of confidence in themselves. Perhaps the problems could be worded differently, so they could be more inconclusive. I also took the opportunity to look up the books on amazon. The books would be engaging for children and parents.  According to Amazon, the book in the series that I looked at is aimed towards 3-7 year olds, but I believe the books can be extended to children that are slightly older.  This may also serve as a helpful resource book for older children as they work on acquiring Math skills.

Bedtime Math can be found at Barnes and Noble. 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/bedtime-math-laura-overdeck/1122518873?ean=9781250035851

        We also had the opportunity to visit the AVRSB Learning Portal.  I was most interested in looking up the various Mathematics rubrics, because this is an area that I was interested in seeking further information. Some of the rubrics that I looked at included the problem solving and communication rubric, How close to the target are you?, and Math interview questions as well as others. My favourite was the Math Interview Questions, because that gives a teacher of a student’s attitude towards what they are currently doing in Math, the process they use, and also the end products. Plus, there was plenty of space to write longer comments. It was helpful to be able to visit this site to gain a better understanding of the resources that will be available to us as teachers.

         We were told about the Math Dictionary for Kids. If we do not understand a concept it would be helpful to review the terminology involved through using this dictionary. Plus, this will be a good resource for our future students to use.

         Out of the websites that we had the opportunity to visit, my favourite was illuminations. The games were interesting.  I enjoyed played Turtle Pond which involved estimation and angle measurement, Pan Balance shapes was engaging, Horizontal Additional used the number line, Bingo was another fun choice. I played Bingo - Addition and Bing – Angles.  The Gingerbread game could be linked to a gingerbread story that could be extended to Language Arts. 

        During my practicum, last spring, the children were sometimes allowed to play educational games on the computer that were Math based. I always found that the children enjoyed the games, and through having fun with Math they gained a greater appreciation for using Math during their regular routine Math lessons.  Technology certainly can play a positive role in encouraging learning.

        Virtual Manipulatives is arranged according to grade levels: preK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. This is a resourceful site containing tools such as base blocks, bar chart, circle 99, and many others. This could site could be used to supplement Math or perhaps incorporated directly into a Math lesson.

      Thinking Blocks is another outstanding site. One game that would be fun for children to play is the Money Game. The children are able to use a hammer to break the money down.

       During our class, I enjoyed learning about incorporating technology in Math. This is a task that I will certainly take on in my classroom. The students enjoy using computers to play games. They also enjoy the Smartboard. On the downside, some schools are not as equipped as others, but this should improve in the future provided better funding or with the help of fundraisers.

         The Tumblebooks site is another that is exceptional for use in Resource or in the classroom.  I have used this site to help children that are struggling with reading. I’m also impressed with the amount of Math based books.  At home, I watched and listened to the book, My Odd Day by Doris Fisher.

This is an excellent book for children in grades primary-to-three, but can also be used with older children. The author teaches the concept of odd through her story making it fun for children to learn what odd is all about! Plus, she follows up in another book with a story about even. 

Class 7: Chapter Reflection – Week October 27-31, 2015

Chapter 4: Helping Children Master The Basic Facts

        This chapter covered a great deal of information. However, I found the most important, especially for me as a student teacher is that it educates us to not only get children involved in learning Math facts, but teaches us the importance of allowing children to develop their own Math strategies. While the author reminds us that knowing Math facts is necessary, knowing the facts alone does not mean that a child has a good grasp on the material. I think it’s also meaningful to remind us that we should not simply be passing our own strategies on, but encouraging the children to learn their own way of solving problems, because there are so many different ways that Math can be done. We each learn in our own unique way how to problem solve. It can be tempting for us to drill students, but we must ensure that they have a strong understanding of their Math before doing drills. I also felt, that the authors gave a positive suggestive about the role of introducing individualized drills allowing the student to use the strategy they had learned.

       

      The chapter contained a vast array of activities that would be useful especially for new teachers, because we have so much to learn about using games, activities, and techniques that encourage children to enjoy learning. I was surprised that subtraction tends to be more difficult for children to learn than addition. Therefore, I would be more likely to spend greater time on connecting subtraction to addition. Learning this, I would also spend greater time on activities that more effectively help children learn subtraction such as “Build up through the ten frame” and “back through ten frame activities. “ Likewise, I feel that all the activities would be of use in the classroom. I would certainly incorporate all as I was teaching the various Mathematics units, but also first ensure that my children understood their own Math strategies including how to solve word problems.

      Lastly, I found this video on youtube.

 We often think of teaching the children alone, but I believe creating videos that parents can also learn from and use to help their children with homework can be incorporated. This helps parents to understand the newer methods of Math. If the Mom or Dad were feeling excluded such videos may put them at ease, and help them to feel they included in their child’s learning process.

Personal Reflection (October 20-to-24, 2015)

          During our weekly math class I learned two new terms, “commutative property and “distributive property.”   According to the commutative property two numbers can be multiplied together and the distributive property a single term and two or more terms that are in brackets also known as parentheses may be multiplied together.

      The information provided during the problem solving lessons was helpful to us, because one day we are going to need to be modelling problem solving strategies for our students. We need to consider all the ways that problems can be solved. I especially found the Problem Solving (PS) sheet to be useful. One of my favourite quotes from the sheet is, “Problem solving is also a powerful teaching tool that fosters multiple creative, and innovative solutions.” This makes future teachers think of the importance of incorporating Math into other subjects, because the depth of Math will also be beneficial for solving problems in arise in Science, and in other subjects.

      It was interesting to observe different techniques for solving the same Math question.  Showing how children can pictorially use groups to represent a Math is meaningful to future elementary teachers, because we need to be exposed to a range of ways that children can do their work and explain their work to us.  For example our group enjoyed, “The Puddle Problem.” We came up with many ways to solve the problem through using string to measure the perimeter, using footsteps, collecting water in a measuring cup to predict how deep it is, and measuring depth with a ruler. I also found the problem-solving menu to be incredible! I would not have thought about fourteen ways that problems can be solved!

Integrated Curriculum Reflection (October 20-to-24, 2015)

        My impressions of the children’s book, “Grandma Lena’s Big Ol’ Turnip,” is that the storyline would appeal to both children and adults.  The pictures in the book are colourful.  Repetitive phrases make the story more interesting to young children, and are also patterns.  The humour pulls the children in without them realizing that they are learning.  Adults and children alike would laugh about the giant turnip and the number of people required to pull it out of the ground! 

                                 

        The book is cross-curricular for covering a range of subjects. Social Studies is included, children learn about southern culture and foods, and about the importance of community. This story can be used in Language Arts. Science is covered, children can be taught about how seeds grow into plants. Kindness is also modeled throughout the story with Grandma Lena’s family and community coming together to help her, and in turn she prepares some delicious meals to feed them.

        Math is represented in many ways. Children do not realize that they are enjoying reading about problem solving, how to pull a giant turnip from the garden,  and counting is also covered. It took five people (four adults, one baby), and one dog to finally pull out the giant turnip. This covers the SCO NO3, students will be expected to relate a numeral 1-to-10 to it’s respective quality.  The five people and dog pulling out the turnip helps to meet the performance indicator for N03.O1, name the number for a given set of objects. Children can also use a counter to represent the number of people or in this case objects. Blocks would be helpful.

        Given the artwork showing the number of people pulling out the turnip, the performance indicator, N03.02  match the numerals with their given pictorial representations is met. Children can draw the number of people and the dog that helped. They can also represent grandma’s dishes through drawing pictures. The seeds can also be presented by drawing a picture. The children can also count the seeds and growing plants.  Performance indicator N03.03 can be met by asking the children to hold up the appropriate number of fingers for a given numeral.

        Lastly, the story also leaves children with a positive message from Grandma Lena. “Anything worth doing is worth doing right. “ 

       

Grade Level Performance Indicators: Grade Primary 

SCO

PNO3 Students will be expected to relate a numeral 1-to-10, to its respective quality.

Performance Indicators

PNO3.01 Name the number for a given set of objects.

PN03.02 Match the numerals with their given pictorial representations.

PN03.03 Hold up the appropriate number of fingers for a given numeral.

Class Reflection: Workshop Model in Math Class for the week of October 6, 2015

      Reflecting back to my childhood, I believe too often that Math appeared dull. A quick lecture model, and worksheets were responsible for many of my Elementary Math days.  However, I do still recall playing Around the World game in the fifth grade. Often, if our teacher had some additional time to spare, he would allow our class to play this game. We were rewarded with sticker. The competition for stickers was an added motivation, but the game on in it’s own respect made learning much more fun.  The entire class always enjoyed playing the game.

        What I have seen thus far when completing my practicums supports my contention that learning should be open to a diversity of resources. Educational games should be amongst the teaching toolbox.  A child’s learning process tends to be much more engaging when learning is hands on. This would include when working with a small group or a partner to include a game.  I have seen shy students light up with excitement not only about the game, but also about learning a new rule or how to add and subtract when using a simple manipulative such as dice.  Many games can be adaptable to help children that may have a learning difference. For example, by pairing students that may require greater assistance with the teacher, EA or other students and also by modifying the game rules. Often some competition can be a motivator as long as fun is involved for the class.

          While many children do enjoy playing Math games, having a class that is a workshop model may also present a challenge for students that are less confident in their Math skills. These students may require prompting by their teacher or perhaps may want to work with others in their group. A student experiencing some difficulties may prefer to not be the presenter for the group. Perhaps, a stronger Math student can be assigned this task. In my own experience, The Millionaire Game was enjoyable, but a bit of a challenge since I did not have the benefit of having done place value in a number of years.  

 So, I certainly do think of children that struggle with Math. It would be anxiety provoking for them to be playing this game with their peers. This may also lead to behaviours by some children, such as pencil sharpening, and so on to waste time. Therefore, I can well understand how these games may present some anxiety to children. I believe that teachers have a role to teach the children that we all learn differently. Some people may struggle more with some courses than others, but all children and adults have a valuable role to contribute in the classroom, and in the community. We need to be aware of signs for those children who are facing difficulties.

         My group did not have the opportunity to finish all the games. If I were to do a workshop model with my own class, I would have fewer games or operate over the course of a few days or week.  Certainly, I would embrace this teaching model. The Place Value game was among my favourites.

        Overall, I enjoyed learning about the various kinds of Math games, I feel that by making Math an exciting subject to learn when a child is young, that just as many students also acquire a joy for literature; that they are more likely to develop a love for learning math. Math games can also increase student’s critical thinking skills that will help them to become more logical, independent thinkers. I also believe in the value of teaching children chess to help them to develop their creativity and logical thinking skills, as they grow older, and also in the possibilities of including music and math together in someway. Both are linked to helping children engage in and develop skills that will further help them in STEM based courses throughout their educational careers.