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Being in the dual degree program I was excited about this course for some time. I was finally going to learn all the magical curriculum and nitty gritty teacher things that everyone else seemed to know. However this is not what happened and I am so glad I was wrong. 

Throughout this course we were able to learn so much more than the BC ministries requirements. We were able to explore different ways a math class could look like and how to incorporate different elements into a math class. Its very reassuring to know that our future math classes do not have to be boring, sad places but rather fun places with activities and diverse styles of learning. I particularly enjoyed learning about how to incorporate other disciplines (art and dance for example) into math and as a way to learn math and demonstrate mathematical learning. 

Another interesting and unexpected element were the weekly problems. Although they were something I occasionally struggled with, it was refreshing to see the creativity and diversity of other people's solutions.

Overall, this course was a delightful way to expand my idea of what a math class could be and I am excited to see what will come next.

WURZELSCHNECKE

Being able to learn about the wurzelschnecke was really fun and exciting. It is a good way of showcasing how beautiful math can be. I particularly liked the idea of having the wurzelschnecke learning on different scales. The individual scale allowed me to have some time to get familiar with the idea and some experience with it one-on-one. Moving into smaller groups, I got to learn about some of the observations others had made while also getting some 3D experience. The large scale was very fun because we got to interact together as a class and collaborate in order to get all the pieces where we needed them. This was of particular interest because math is usually so isolating and consists of still work.

Off The Grid

This first stop I had was related to applying mathematics concepts, particularly grids, to real life situations. Although grids may appear to be a logic and systematic way in theory, they may not be the best fit for what we are trying to do. Especially with real life situations where the landscape can be challenging, it does not make sense to force the environment to change in order to adapt to the math. When in the classroom, I would not change the questions so that I could use my preferred method/concept. I would use the method best suited to the problem in order to solve it efficiently. 

This relates to the other stop I had which was in terms of scale. Just because an idea works really well on a small scale does not mean that it will work equally well at a larger scale. For example, if a method resonates well for one student, it might not have the same effect for the entire class. We need to be flexible as educators and able to adapt to the situations we are presented. Our unique landscape in Canada, varying from province to province and region to region should be the main factor in deciding how to live within that space. 

The last idea from the article I enjoyed was the notion of going back to old ideas rather than using technology to incorporate activities and bring life back into learning. Having this implies that our timeline is cyclic rather than linear. Being able to bring back older ideas rather than using new age technology to solve our problems could prove to be much more effective. It also opens up our education to more diverse cultural practices. Students will get a broader sense of what the world is and can be rather than a narrow view focused on one culture's perspective.

SNAP Math Fair Reflection

During our class on Monday Dec. 3 we had a visit from a grade 10 math class from Richmond. They shared their math projects done on a variety of subjects. I was very impressed by the some of the conflicting stories they created and enjoyed visiting the different projects and talking to the students about their processes. Being able to animate math into something fun and exciting rather than just stale questions is definitely a skill. The SNAP math fair really advocates for accessibility. Students were able to express their learning in a variety of ways (pictorial, orally, written, kinesthetic) while also being able to showcase their talents and interests. It allowed students to personalize these math concepts in ways that made sense to them.

One surprise I had was during a conversation with one of the students who expressed that they preferred word problems to rote exercise because it gave context to the problem and offered a reason to do the math (we want to figure something out rather than just practicing techniques). This is the complete opposite to what I normally hear students say. What I found interesting is that many of the problems presented were unrealistic, typical math word problems that would never actually happen in real life. I wonder if the SNAP math fairs could move towards students solving problems that they would actually have.

Unit Plan Draft - Take 2

Here is the link to my second draft unit plan.