Math Blog 4

1.  What did I learn?

Class today began with an overview of creating a lesson plan. From this discussion I picked up some key ideas that I appreciated.  The first was that when planning a lesson always make sure that the objective is measurable; if the objective is not measurable it can be extremely hard to know whether or not the students have learned anything.  The second idea was that through planning a unit in mathematics it is helpful to follow these tips; take problems out of the text book that are not required as homework and use them on a test, create your final test first and work backwards based on what you want your students to know, and make sure to always do the homework problems that your students do.  I also enjoyed the ideas shared from the book called “What’s Math Got to DO With It.”  One of the ideas from this book states that students are motivated by their intrinsic success, or in other words when they feel successful. Therefore, as a math teacher it is incredibly important that I set up my students for success and help facilitate their own learning while doing my best to explain the same problems in multiple ways because no learner will be the same. 

2.  What do I still have questions about?

After class, I was left feeling overwhelmed at the task at hand.  I have many questions regarding how I will ever learn teacher strategies to all the concepts that my students need to know.  Fortunately I am learning that I will not know everything right away and my learning as a teacher will be a climb, therefore my goal will be to not become discouraged and frustrated at the challenge and instead take every challenge as a learning opportunity to improve myself as a teacher.

3.  What are the implications for classroom practice?

The implications these ideas will have on me as a teacher will be huge.  I understand that as a new teacher I am going to be at a disadvantage over any teacher who has taught before based solely on fact that I lack experience, but I have to remember to put it into perspective and to think back upon how far I have become since last spring and the leaps and bounds I have made since then.  I have accepted that I will be a life longer learner as well as a lifelong student and I believe in myself.