Re-thinking my Mathematical Thinking

Day 5, July 13, 2015

Making Thinking Visible

Today’s discourse and activities on mathematical thinking, mathematical processes and the 3-part lesson made me realize that the way I handle my math class needs a serious and drastic makeover.   In my classroom the symptoms for reading math wrongly were evidently present:

• ·         Student do not do homework.  They do not study in advance and do not watch assigned videos.  The lack initiative even during class discussions.
• ·         Lessons that were supposedly learned in the previous units need to be repeated because of lack of retention.
• ·         Student easily give up, when faced with challenging questions.  Some may not even attempt to solve problems or answer questions.
• ·         Most of them are intimated by word-problems.  They are too reluctant to understand word problems and would settle to look for what is simple and the obvious information. When they get frustrated they ask the formula.  Then accused me of not “teaching” when they are urged to investigate the formula from the given information. 

As the lead-learner, I cannot put the blame on them.  Given the opportunity to work on another long term assignment (or a permanent position) to teach math, I will design my lessons to integrate the concepts of big idea, open questions, mathematical thinking; to plan using the 3-part lesson students; to develop patient problem solvers and independent thinkers through the practice of the mathematical processes.

Adopting Dan Meyers’ recommendation, my lesson in the future will incorporate the use of multimedia and take advantage of costless apps available in the web.  From the article on Teenage Brain, we know that technology is the adolescent learners’ expertise. Therefore, I’ll make use of their strength to divert their computer ability into mathematical thinking skills.

 From the conversation on open questions, I will allow students to learn more than what I know, evoke curiosity and encourage student intuition.  Ask short question to allow probing and investigation and force student to think.  I will let student formulate and build problems and to be less helpful and eventually moderate, if not totally eradicate “impatient irresolution” in my math class.