February 16, 2023

Observations

My mentor teacher gave me advice about general aspects of my career that she did not specifically have to. I found this helpful. One element was potential TOC work and preparing for my own TOCs as a teacher. She said many teachers do not prepare content for TOCs, leaving them in a stressful situation. She told me it’s essential to make a day plan every day so that if there is an emergency or I am sick, there is always comprehensive content for a TOC to use. She explained that day plans should be left on the teacher’s desk or somewhere obvious so they know what the class has been doing and they have something to base tomorrow’s lesson on.

On this day, I watched the class learn a math lesson. I noticed the teacher uses metaphors and repeat-after-me tactics to help with memory. She asks questions several times and has the class respond in synch so each child is engaged in the information and instructions are more solidified. She usually also puts instructions on the board before they arrive.

I gained a lot from the way she described students’ ways of comprehending math. I don’t think I have heard of this before and it made my childhood make so much more sense–I often wondered how my peers could easily solve it mentally when I struggled to hold onto numbers without drawing the equation out. She gave me the imagery of a house. She said some students equate in the attic part of their heads. They hear a number and can solve an equation mentally, but these students often struggle with word problems or applying math to physical aspects of life. I cannot do this and the idea baffles me. The second strength is solving by writing equations: these students write out formulas to see how numbers work together that way. I work better in this way. And the third group is more visual or tactile, applying math to images and real life. I also do well with this.

I also observed my mentor teacher’s way of responding to misbehaviour. In general, she either calls the specific child out for their actions in front of the class or calls them to her desk. If students are struggling with work, she’ll also call them up to her desk to work there. She explains the content, answers questions they have, and watches to ensure they’re doing their work correctly.

I got to work with students on math as well. She let me circle the room to support students with questions or who seemed to be struggling. Most students seemed content, but I was excited to get to help one girl especially. It was rewarding because I was able to help her understand a concept after explaining it in several ways until it clicked. Math is easier to notice growth than in my teachables (English and Art) because it is more objective and there are many mini-milestones of developing understanding. I felt proud of myself for helping the student because I have not done math in a while and I was worried I would not be able to solve the problem myself.

 

Reflections

The concept of the three levels of a house in math will help me teach in the future because I will understand that different ways of explaining are crucial to different preferences in learning. This house diagram connected so well to my childhood because I remember thinking I was bad at math when others could solve it so easily in their heads. I am not bad at math; I simply haven’t developed this strength and find it difficult to hold onto several numbers in my mind–this could even be related to the struggle in working memory that comes through my ADHD. Bringing it back to the classroom, I cannot expect all students to understand in the same way as I do so I have to learn to explain in several ways. Also, I understand that students must learn to stretch their minds to understand several ways of doing math. I can teach in a way that allows students to use their preferred math learning style while also challenging them to grow in secondary styles so they can be equipped to use math in various parts of life.

In working with them, I developed my own beliefs and understanding of how to teach math. I haven’t taught math since I was a peer tutor as a teen, so this was new for me. I realized the importance of the fact that the goal of learning should be understanding. It is easier to explain to a student the formula for an isolated question, but a lack of true understanding will prevent future success. I want to teach in a way that the learning is understood and is memorable for the future. I believe that when explaining concepts to children, the teacher should not simply tell students the steps. A way I have learned to strengthen the likelihood of understanding is by asking questions about what the child already knows and explaining it for various learning types until the concept gets across. I find that many students don’t benefit from explaining without my inquiring first because I might not be answering their true questions. That is unhelpful. In my practicum, I practised asking the child what they understood and asking questions that got them to think on their own before explaining. Then once I did explain, I was able to answer in a way that actually helped. Also, asking the student to explain the question to me in other words was often helpful for diagnosing the origin of their confusion. Teaching this way is less redundant and frustrating for students.