Terrified ---------> Excited!!!

For my final blog post this semester I will answer the question:
What was your greatest 'learning' this semester with regard to teaching children mathematics? How has your thinking shifted?

     I can honestly say that the biggest shift for me this semester, in any of my courses, would have been in this mathematics course. I feel as though I went from terrified to teach math to children, to excited about it. 

     I never considered myself to be very strong mathematically, but I have realized that I definitely know a lot more than I realize and a lot more than I give myself credit for. A light bulb went off for me when I was taking a certain University math course, the professor would always show at least 2 or 3 ways to solve each problem. It was one of the first time that math started to make sense to me again since I was a child. What I realized in that course, and a believe that was only strengthened this semester, is that while there may be one right answer but there is not one right way to reach that answer! I was left thinking, how does everyone not teach math this way! A subject that is often so stressful and feared by many students as they get older and it becomes increasingly difficult. Don't teach the students how you find the answer, help them find their way and teach them how they reach the answer! If you have students who learn in different ways, you teach it in a variety of ways so that everyone gets to that answer, so that everyone has a fair chance to find their math strengths.

     I learned that math doesn't always have to be a work sheet or a test, that students should not feel pressure or be put under time constraints. Math is so important, we need to instill a love for it in students, not turn them off from it completely by making it a negative experience. 

     Math can be fun! Teachers can learn just as much about their students mathematical abilities by watching them play games and complete problems, by having them prepare their own problems for a math fair. Observation can absolutely be an assessment tool used in math learning. 

     I have feared having to teach children math, especially with my teaching interest being in the elementary grades. I now realize that I don't have to fear teaching it, and I can teach it in a way that the students walk away with a positive attitude towards learning math. It is no different than any other subject, make the learning, fun, interesting, and relevant and you be successful. 

     Thank you for a great semester! You have helped change my views, and give me confidence when it comes to teaching mathematics. I can not wait for my internship!

Joanne