Philosophy of Teaching Mathematics
If you ask students what their least favorite subject is, they are most likely to say math, but why is that? Over the years, there have been many different changes to the math curriculum and teaching strategies in order to fix the negative atmosphere around math such as montessori and common core. Both of these techniques focus on the general understanding of mathematics rather than just the processes that you learn, however, is there a best way to teach mathematics?
When first introduced to the concept of mathematics there are usually students who understand it right away and those who struggle from the start. This struggle turns into the idea that the student is bad at math, will never be good at it, and then in turn, creates the negative perception that student then has about mathematics. This creates the idea that students can be bad at math and that is the end of the discussion, treating math as something you can live without. Neil de Grasse Tyson once said, “Somehow it's o.k. for people to chuckle about not being good at math. Yet if I said, ‘I never learned how to read,’ they’d say I was an illiterate dolt.” Math cannot and should not be looked at as something that is unnecessary. It is so much more than a subject and as a math teacher, that is what I want to share with my students.
My philosophy about teaching mathematics first starts within the teacher, in self-efficacy and subject enthusiasm. If the teacher doesn’t believe that they can teach then they won’t be able to. Similarly if the teacher is enthusiastic about math as a whole, it has been proven to create a positive influence in students of mathematics. Since I am going to be adolescent education certified, it will be my job to undo the negative attitudes that students have grown throughout their educational years prior to my class. The idea is to create an environment that is exciting for students to want to learn in and by being excited about the topic you increase the attention you will get from students as well as foster the environment where mistakes are welcome and every student feels comfortable to be right or wrong.
Another thing to remember is that students will always have a favorite subject or topic, and teachers should use that to their advantage. If a mathematics process or topic can be connected to a different subject, make those connections to get more students interested in what you are talking about. Coupled with that, it is absolutely necessary to keep literacy in mathematics. Reading is the one activity that you will do probably every day in your life, so students need to understand reading in mathematics. This can be done in a variety of literary strategies that range from making simple vocabulary maps to answering short prompts. This allows the more literary students to shine as well as create a deeper understanding of mathematics for all students.
Most importantly you cannot keep a class from getting stagnant and boring. As soon as that happens the students will also become bored. If you are going to the same place every day for 40 minutes, the last thing you want to do is know exactly what will happen. You need to get the students engaged each and every day and by having different types of lessons is a way to do that. So often we see teachers falling into a pattern of only using direct instruction, especially in mathematics, and that needs to change. Direct instruction is a key part of teaching math, however, it cannot be the only way to teach it. One thing that I stress is creating an inquiry lesson for every unit I have, meaning that in one lesson, the students will be making a discovery on their own. This not only gets the students engaged but it raises their confidence that they can do math just as well as the next person.
From a very young age math has come very easily to me, I knew all my times tables by the beginning of third grade and in second grade, I went to Johns Hopkins University to take a mathematics aptitude test to see how ahead I really was. I was very confident in math classes and I was very aware that not a lot of my classmates were. I spent 13 years in school seeing students struggle through a subject that I love and I want to change that mindset for the next generation. Math is not a subject, it is a language, it is an art, it defines the world around us and when we limit it to 2+2=4 we are diminishing the abstractness that is the concept of math. Overall it is important to remember that, as a teacher, you are there for the students, you are there to teach them mathematics. The students have to be there, you have chosen to be.
When first introduced to the concept of mathematics there are usually students who understand it right away and those who struggle from the start. This struggle turns into the idea that the student is bad at math, will never be good at it, and then in turn, creates the negative perception that student then has about mathematics. This creates the idea that students can be bad at math and that is the end of the discussion, treating math as something you can live without. Neil de Grasse Tyson once said, “Somehow it's o.k. for people to chuckle about not being good at math. Yet if I said, ‘I never learned how to read,’ they’d say I was an illiterate dolt.” Math cannot and should not be looked at as something that is unnecessary. It is so much more than a subject and as a math teacher, that is what I want to share with my students.
My philosophy about teaching mathematics first starts within the teacher, in self-efficacy and subject enthusiasm. If the teacher doesn’t believe that they can teach then they won’t be able to. Similarly if the teacher is enthusiastic about math as a whole, it has been proven to create a positive influence in students of mathematics. Since I am going to be adolescent education certified, it will be my job to undo the negative attitudes that students have grown throughout their educational years prior to my class. The idea is to create an environment that is exciting for students to want to learn in and by being excited about the topic you increase the attention you will get from students as well as foster the environment where mistakes are welcome and every student feels comfortable to be right or wrong.
Another thing to remember is that students will always have a favorite subject or topic, and teachers should use that to their advantage. If a mathematics process or topic can be connected to a different subject, make those connections to get more students interested in what you are talking about. Coupled with that, it is absolutely necessary to keep literacy in mathematics. Reading is the one activity that you will do probably every day in your life, so students need to understand reading in mathematics. This can be done in a variety of literary strategies that range from making simple vocabulary maps to answering short prompts. This allows the more literary students to shine as well as create a deeper understanding of mathematics for all students.
Most importantly you cannot keep a class from getting stagnant and boring. As soon as that happens the students will also become bored. If you are going to the same place every day for 40 minutes, the last thing you want to do is know exactly what will happen. You need to get the students engaged each and every day and by having different types of lessons is a way to do that. So often we see teachers falling into a pattern of only using direct instruction, especially in mathematics, and that needs to change. Direct instruction is a key part of teaching math, however, it cannot be the only way to teach it. One thing that I stress is creating an inquiry lesson for every unit I have, meaning that in one lesson, the students will be making a discovery on their own. This not only gets the students engaged but it raises their confidence that they can do math just as well as the next person.
From a very young age math has come very easily to me, I knew all my times tables by the beginning of third grade and in second grade, I went to Johns Hopkins University to take a mathematics aptitude test to see how ahead I really was. I was very confident in math classes and I was very aware that not a lot of my classmates were. I spent 13 years in school seeing students struggle through a subject that I love and I want to change that mindset for the next generation. Math is not a subject, it is a language, it is an art, it defines the world around us and when we limit it to 2+2=4 we are diminishing the abstractness that is the concept of math. Overall it is important to remember that, as a teacher, you are there for the students, you are there to teach them mathematics. The students have to be there, you have chosen to be.