My experience with team teaching was informative. Since it had been some time since I have done group work with non-music education students, I was extremely surprised to hear the reservations of my group members to create our lesson from nothing, including the template. I find it is usually quicker to make up a work sheet or template myself rather than find one that exactly fits with my purpose. However, it is very possible this is simply because I have not explored primary/elementary resource websites in depth.
I found that the hardest part of the team teaching activity was trying to find away for all three group members to speak to the class without adding unnecessary instruction, for the single purpose of speaking to the class. In music education, especially in ensemble based classes, we are urged to speak as little and as efficiently as possible and focus time on the practical application of the activity, whether that is rehearsing a band piece or working on a conceptual activity involving theory or history.
When anyone speaks without purpose from an instructional standpoint, I loose focus and do not usually grasp what the teacher is saying. This is true presently, and has been throughout my schooling. I believe that teachers should say what is important, and only what is important. Using this technique, students will know to listen because everything said will be useful. I felt many groups talked too much and talked to the class in squeaky teacher voices. I did not want our presentation to reflect these attributes.
The math in our team teaching was far too easy for the grade level we set. We should have lowered the grade level or made the activity more difficult. I really liked using the concept of furniture in a bedroom to introduce bigger concepts like spatial sense and area. If I was to do this activity again, I would adjust the grade level and further search the curriculum guide to find more specific concepts to base the activity on.
I was frustrated with many of the presentations I observed. Many were unclear in their wording and open too much interpretation. How can there be a correct answer if it can be interpreted so many different ways? I gave up on a few problems because I did not feel I had adequate information to complete it. I imagine this would be a cause of frustration for elementary students too, especially those who excel in math.
I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about math and about the primary/elementary classroom this term. My mind has been opened to the developing schools of thought in math education and how they can be successfully applied in the classroom.:)
Monday, April 4, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
MATH FAIR!
Last Thursday, our class had a math fair. Each pair of students selected a question from this site and presented it to the class in a "science fair" type set up, all around the classroom.
I selected a problem called Jedi Knights. As much as I would like to have gone with the Star Wars theme of this question, I really don't think I could have pulled it off. Instead I gave the question an alien theme.
Three Rollies (little round aliens) and three Pointys (little triangular aliens) were travelling together. They needed to cross a river. They found a little boat that only two aliens could travel in at once. Pointys get a bit full of themselves when they outnumber other creatures, and then poke the aliens in the minority. How can they get to the other side of the river without any poking?
The math in this question is about more/less concepts as well as forseeing what will happen in different steps of solving this problem (and remembering what worked and didn't worked).
The extention on this problem was about the midnight monster. This monster attacks everything he sees at midnight. A family of four needs to get through a tunnel to safety. It is 11:43pm. Only two people can fit through this tunnel at a time. They only have one flashlight that needs to be used at all times in the tunnel. Dad can travel the tunnel in one minute, Mom in two, Little Jim-Bob in five and dear old Granny in ten. If two family members are travelling together, they must travel at the same pace. How can they escape the monster?
The math in the extention is similar to the original problem, but adds the element of addition.
My problems were received well by my classmates. I worked alone, so was only by my question station for half of the fair. Most people tried the first part of the question and had quick success. I encouraged everyone to try the harder question, and the ones that did needed a few hints, but eventually got the question. It stretched my own thinking when I first read the questions.
If I had to redo my presentation, I would have made a poster board with the original question, but only have manipulatives for the extention. I think the first part, while good for primary students, was far too easy for our class. I would have liked to challenge them more. I had no problem not giving hints to my classmates. Maybe this is because I don't know them well, but I really wanted them to figure it out themselves.
I enjoyed visiting everyone's problem stations and working out the problems there. I felt unchallenged by many of the problems, but I really enjoyed the ones that took a bit of an effort to solve.
My favourite part of the activity was getting to interact with almost the entire class in a one-to-one setting. I was warmly welcomed to each station, or even called over to join in a two-player game. In a classroom that had many cliques or a few new students, a math fair would be an excellent opportunity for them to get to know everyone.
I didn't find this exercise particularly challenging. The harderst part was figuring out the extentions to my own question. It took me a long while and I wasn't sure I was going to get to an answer! But I got the answer eventually and it all made sense then.
I would most certianly do this with a k-6 class! Even with a junior high class. I bet I could put a music theory spin on them and use it in music class! (It would work because musical notation and theory is all math!)
I selected a problem called Jedi Knights. As much as I would like to have gone with the Star Wars theme of this question, I really don't think I could have pulled it off. Instead I gave the question an alien theme.
Three Rollies (little round aliens) and three Pointys (little triangular aliens) were travelling together. They needed to cross a river. They found a little boat that only two aliens could travel in at once. Pointys get a bit full of themselves when they outnumber other creatures, and then poke the aliens in the minority. How can they get to the other side of the river without any poking?
The math in this question is about more/less concepts as well as forseeing what will happen in different steps of solving this problem (and remembering what worked and didn't worked).
The extention on this problem was about the midnight monster. This monster attacks everything he sees at midnight. A family of four needs to get through a tunnel to safety. It is 11:43pm. Only two people can fit through this tunnel at a time. They only have one flashlight that needs to be used at all times in the tunnel. Dad can travel the tunnel in one minute, Mom in two, Little Jim-Bob in five and dear old Granny in ten. If two family members are travelling together, they must travel at the same pace. How can they escape the monster?
The math in the extention is similar to the original problem, but adds the element of addition.
My problems were received well by my classmates. I worked alone, so was only by my question station for half of the fair. Most people tried the first part of the question and had quick success. I encouraged everyone to try the harder question, and the ones that did needed a few hints, but eventually got the question. It stretched my own thinking when I first read the questions.
If I had to redo my presentation, I would have made a poster board with the original question, but only have manipulatives for the extention. I think the first part, while good for primary students, was far too easy for our class. I would have liked to challenge them more. I had no problem not giving hints to my classmates. Maybe this is because I don't know them well, but I really wanted them to figure it out themselves.
I enjoyed visiting everyone's problem stations and working out the problems there. I felt unchallenged by many of the problems, but I really enjoyed the ones that took a bit of an effort to solve.
My favourite part of the activity was getting to interact with almost the entire class in a one-to-one setting. I was warmly welcomed to each station, or even called over to join in a two-player game. In a classroom that had many cliques or a few new students, a math fair would be an excellent opportunity for them to get to know everyone.
I didn't find this exercise particularly challenging. The harderst part was figuring out the extentions to my own question. It took me a long while and I wasn't sure I was going to get to an answer! But I got the answer eventually and it all made sense then.
I would most certianly do this with a k-6 class! Even with a junior high class. I bet I could put a music theory spin on them and use it in music class! (It would work because musical notation and theory is all math!)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
more thoughts about math.
I always liked math, especially math in physics class, because there was one answer, and it made sense. If a car travels at a certain speed, consuming gas at a constant rate, and the gas tank has a set capacity, finding the distance the car travels before it runs out of gas is a logical process, aided by those handy formulas. I loved getting the correct answer. It was even better when I was the first to get that answer!
I liked math less when it didn’t make sense anymore. Calculus makes little sense to me. I had to memorize and try to apply what I had memorized to get through. I was much less efficient in this area. I felt I could relate to the students in my previous math classes who had struggled with grasping the concepts that had been presented.
What is math? I originally would have said the study of numbers. Now? I’m not sure how to define math now. I know it is a complex web of concepts and patterns ready to be discovered. Now I know that the “listen, copy, memorize, drill” method is not effective, just as the same practice in almost any area is not particularly helpful.
While reading through the sample problems, I was frustrated I didn’t have anyone around to bounce ideas with. And that there were no solutions, examples or even hints to help.
I really liked reading about the benefits of relational understanding. Making connections IS intrinsically rewarding! It does help memory. It makes everything better!
I’m intrigued with the “new” way of teaching math and hope to gain a better understanding of its concepts and execution in the remaining part of the semester.
I liked math less when it didn’t make sense anymore. Calculus makes little sense to me. I had to memorize and try to apply what I had memorized to get through. I was much less efficient in this area. I felt I could relate to the students in my previous math classes who had struggled with grasping the concepts that had been presented.
What is math? I originally would have said the study of numbers. Now? I’m not sure how to define math now. I know it is a complex web of concepts and patterns ready to be discovered. Now I know that the “listen, copy, memorize, drill” method is not effective, just as the same practice in almost any area is not particularly helpful.
While reading through the sample problems, I was frustrated I didn’t have anyone around to bounce ideas with. And that there were no solutions, examples or even hints to help.
I really liked reading about the benefits of relational understanding. Making connections IS intrinsically rewarding! It does help memory. It makes everything better!
I’m intrigued with the “new” way of teaching math and hope to gain a better understanding of its concepts and execution in the remaining part of the semester.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Math Autobiography
I have always liked math, with the exception of calculus, which I loathe. But more about that later. I only have three memories of math in primary/elementary. Strangely, all of them are from grade three.
I was placed in the accelerated math program in junior high. This ended up meaning I would go through all of junior high with the same class of mostly boys. For the most part, the smart boys chose math and the smart girls chose French immersion. I would guess this is a common occurance. In high school, I loved the puzzles that math presented. I would compete with my friends to finish the assigned work first, or to get the highest marks on math, physics and chemistry tests. Yes, I was a huge nerd in high school.
I plodded through math 1000, 1001, 2000 and 2320 (calc I, II, III and discrete math). I enjoyed math 2050 (linear algebra) and stats 2510. This education course will finish off the course requirements for my second teachable subject.
All that said, my confidence in my math skills has not recovered from my horrid and often failed attempts at calculus. But I hope if I have a position that is not 100% music and I need to teach other classes, I will teach math rather than health.
- Sitting in my classroom at a small table with big headphones on my head listening to tapes of multiplication tables put to music. I thought it was pretty cool.
- My older brother showing me how to figure out the 9 times tables by putting down a finger and looking at how many fingers are left up on each side. For example, for 9 x 2, put down your left ring finger. This leaves one finger on the left side, and eight on the other. 9 x 2 = 18.
- Sitting on my bed and realizing that division could be figured out in other ways than just multiplication backwards.
I was placed in the accelerated math program in junior high. This ended up meaning I would go through all of junior high with the same class of mostly boys. For the most part, the smart boys chose math and the smart girls chose French immersion. I would guess this is a common occurance. In high school, I loved the puzzles that math presented. I would compete with my friends to finish the assigned work first, or to get the highest marks on math, physics and chemistry tests. Yes, I was a huge nerd in high school.
Then calculus happened. My pre-calc course in grade twelve was terrible. Math was not easy anymore. I had to work at it to make sense of it. And mostly I didn't. So my math confidence disapeared just in time for university.
I plodded through math 1000, 1001, 2000 and 2320 (calc I, II, III and discrete math). I enjoyed math 2050 (linear algebra) and stats 2510. This education course will finish off the course requirements for my second teachable subject.
All that said, my confidence in my math skills has not recovered from my horrid and often failed attempts at calculus. But I hope if I have a position that is not 100% music and I need to teach other classes, I will teach math rather than health.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Welcome to my Blog!
Hello readers!
My name is Jenn. I am a fifth year music/music education student. My instrument is oboe. Yes, I know, you have no idea what an oboe is, so I included a picture! It sort of sounds like a duck, but nicer.
This blog is a requirement for my primary/elementary math education course. I would like teach at a high school level, but this class finishs off my second teachable in math. And, chances are high that I will teach in an p/e position at some point.
I hope you enjoy my thoughts about math and teaching kids and many other related topics we are sure to cover! Stay tuned for a fun-filled math autobiography!
-J
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)