One step back and Two steps forward

As this semester comes to an end and we (finally) reach the end of the course, I feel that my thoughts on teaching mathematics hasn't shifted a whole lot. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I just feel that I have already been exposed to many of the ideas brought forth in this course, therefore most of the enlightenment comes from a second glance at mathematics and a different set of glasses (as Dorothy would say). 

One idea I had that was challenged through this course was the fact that the teacher is not some all-knowing being for students to run up to and ask "is this right?" The onus really is on the student to determine if their response to an answer is "right" or not... or even if there is a "right" answer to the question. At least, it should be on the student. 

Also, through this course, we had the opportunity to participate in a math fair. If you had a chance to see me do all those activities (not to mention "practising" aka playing my game at menchies the night before) you would know how absolutely ecstatic that made me. I love games: all the games. By having this math fair we made math fun. I will definitely consider doing activities like this in my future classrooms. You just wait for the day when my students are the weirdos in high school being all like "math is fun!" and having everyone else think they're crazy for thinking that. 

Another idea I took from this course is the importance of making real life connections; making math practical. I think this is crucial if we want to create successful citizens of the world. Seeing my number sense (well, lack thereof) makes me feel like I have a duty to prepare my students better than I was prepared and to teach them practicality with math. Similarly, it is also important to have critical discussions about math. Not only will this be beneficial to their futures, it will also strengthen their connection to the topics and therefore deepen their learning experience. 

At the end of the day I think it is important to remember that math is all about problem solving and teaching math is all about creating a balance. Although all these "new" ideas are truly wonderful, we can't just throw out the idea of formalized testing and using worksheets altogether. We need to create authentic learning experiences that nurture our students' strengths and abilities, plays off of our strengths and passions as teachers and creates the best possible future leaders of the world. 

With this course in my pocket and a whole bunch of resources by my side, I not only feel very prepared to teach math, but more importantly, I feel very excited to get out there and start teaching math. So thank you Ms. (Dr.) Mary Mathematics and good luck with your future baby Einstein; you have been so positive, passionate and enlightening, it has truly been a pleasure. 

Not everything that can be counted counts, 

and not everything that counts can be counted. 

- Albert Einstein

Building Blocks of Math Education

Coined as a "new movement to revolutionize math teaching and learning," YouCubed is a new resource for teachers and parents alike who want to learn more about the best strategies to use when working with and teaching mathematics. Because this site is only now starting to get off the ground and won't be fully operational until a few months from now, it is hard to comment on the usefulness of the site. Nonetheless, here are some of my first impressions...

First of all, I think a site with the goal of "revolutioni[zing] math" has a lot of potential. I like the clean layout that is easy to follow. With that being said, I am not a huge fan of the fact that it is one continuous page. And, when you click on a link it opens in the same page so you have to constantly be clicking back and saving the documents you like elsewhere. That can be a pain in the butt, but thats only a minor functional detail of the site. 

When I did open up the available resources, I was interested and intrigued by what they had to say. One point that particularly stood out was in the document about Unlocking Children's Math Potential. It mentioned the importance of making mistakes. This was a point that I also noted in Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk that I discussed a few posts ago. The thing that I liked about YouCubed's article is that it had evidence and research to support the claim that mistakes are important. 

I also noticed that a lot, if not all, of the articles were written by Jo Boaler, the driving force behind the site. I am hoping (and thinking) that as this site gets off the ground, there will be more contributors to make for a more diverse and reliable resource.

I liked that they had some ideas for math games for students but I would have liked it more if they were interactive, perhaps even designed for SmartBoards. Then again, there are already some sites like IXL that provide a great variety of interactive math games for students. (Plus IXL even directly relates to the different provincial curriculums, which is a huge bonus!)

Overall, I enjoyed this web-based resource. I like how they have an "In the News" section that keeps readers 'in-the-know' and refers to up-to-date information. I think YouCubed has excellent potential and an appealing design that will help make a mark on the mathematics education community. I look forward to checking back in a few months when the site is fully operational and ready to go. 

Somehow it's O.K. for people to chuckle about not being good at math, 

yet, if I said "I never learned to read," they'd say i was an illiterate dolt.

- Neil deGrasse Tyson