Now that I have been student teaching for two days in the classroom, I have a few reflections I want to make a note of. Firstly, glancing over some of the problems my students had to do, I couldn't help but think how simple some of them seemed to me. Let me explain. I am in an 8th grade accelerated Algebra 1 class this semester. My math background includes classes all the way up through Calc IV and then some. On top of that I am starting a very proof-based, theoretical geometry class. So, for obvious reasons, it is a challenge to keep in mind the level that my students are at and that they may have very different ways of thinking about problems than I do. It's just a balance I have to maintain between my level of mathematical knowledge and my students level of mathematical knowledge. How to do that is certainly a good question for my mentor teacher.
My background also brings me to my second point, which is how do we justify the use in teaching something we've rarely if ever seen used outside of class and standardized tests. For example, our lesson today was on stem-and-leaf plots, and I could not think of a use for them outside the classroom. I had a really nice discussion with my mentor teacher about this today and she told me that sometimes there just isn't a good answer to that question, but to keep in mind that sometimes simply the process of solving such problems and knowing different ways to organize data can be extremely useful skills to have. Also in situations like this, an option she gave and has used in the past, is to have students look for examples of such charts and graphs used in the newspaper or online or anywhere else outside of the textbook and bring the example into class for extra credit (though she did admit that stem-and-leaf are pretty hard to find even in those sources). Here's just a few strategies for dealing with topics that you may not see the relevance in teaching. If anyone has some other ideas or gets other ideas during the semester, please let me know, and of course I'll keep reporting ideas and strategies that I have heard. With that, adios amigos.
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Very interesting point about assessing where exactly the students' academic abilities lie. It seems to apply not only to math but to all of the subjects. However, it definitely seems like realizing where the students are at and doing so quickly is extremely important in the field of mathematics, as the entire learning process builds on prior knowledge more so than maybe any other subject. I'd be interested in hearing what your mentor-teacher's response to that question would be.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
ReplyDeleteYou raise some great questions. Stem and leaf plots, averages, and means are all good precursors for learning statistics in depth. Many of the automotive companies and I expect other fields as well, rely heavily on statistical data for process control, and analyzing quality data. I suspect Pat would be a great source for more insights too. Good luck with student teaching. Sounds like you have some nice classes!