Math Education

As discussed in Building Thinking Classrooms , many students in math classrooms are afraid of and unable to effectively answer problem-solving questions. When provided with a problem to solve, students wait for the teacher's instruction and guidance rather than working out the solution on their own. Many students today have math anxiety and are afraid to fail. Even when a grade is not being assigned to a problem, they aren't willing to take risks and make mistakes when it comes to solving a problem that they haven't seen before. This webinar raises the question: how can we as teachers create students who aren't afraid to problem solve? How do we build thinking classrooms? One of the ways to do this is by moving away from typical lecture-style lessons where the teacher writes down formulas and solutions on the board and the students simply copy them down. This allows students to "learn" material without actually understanding it or retaining knowledge of it. ...

With tax season at its peak many people are wishing they had the skills and know-how to file their own return without the need to pay an accountant or purchase a software to do it for them. If taxes are such an essential part of adult life, why don't we learn them in school? The answer is: you can  but you aren't required to . This is something that I was surprised to learn throughout my time as a student as well as in my exploration of the Ontario Mathematics Curriculum during my time in the Teacher Education Program. There are courses offered, such as MEL4E: Mathematics for Work and Everyday Life that provide the necessary knowledge needed for topics such as taxes, budgeting and interest that are key skills to have for everyday life. Despite the huge benefit that taking a class like MEL4E would have, it is often stigmatized and seen as a course for students who don't excel at math or won't need math for their future education. How strange that we categorize our st...

In class we had the privilege to participate in an activity that Jenna led us through. It was the most engaging and exciting math activity that I have ever used and I can definitely see students really enjoying it in a real classroom. Jenna split the class into four groups and each group was provided with a toolbox that had many locks on it. We were provided with a crossword puzzle to start off and there were a couple other clues that were available to be retrieved from different compartments on the box. As a group we had to work together to solve the puzzle, complete math problems, and figure out lock combinations to open up our box. It was so fun to see what each clue would reveal and to figure out each step of the puzzle. Racing against our classmates provided an extra sense of challenge and determination which only added to the fun. My group came in a close second, which we were very proud of. The prize at the end was opening up a bag of chocolates to share among our group. Th...

My first block was a great first experience teaching in a high school classroom. I had the opportunity to teach a Grade 10 Academic Math class and it was a true testament to my passion for teaching and a clear indicator that I was right where I have wanted to be. I got to finish up a unit on quadratics, teaching concepts such as completing the square, quadratic formula, and problem solving. This was definitely a tricky unit for my students, as each new concept in quadratics builds off of the previous one, and many students struggled to keep up with the pace. Overall the unit was well done, although it is safe to say that the students were very happy to be done with it when it was over (seeing as it was the last of 3 units on quadratics). During this unit I was able to use Desmos to make graphing and visually representing quadratic functions quick and easy for my students. I often used this technology during my lessons and I also allowed students to use it for exploration activities. Th...