Week 3
What did you notice about how children think about math?
I am not sure if it is these children, or children in general, but each child relied on their fingers for doing math problems. I was not surprised to see the younger children counting on their fingers, but even the older children relied on this method. If a problem could not be done using their fingers or if they haven't memorized the answer, they could not figure out how to solve the problem. A few students, that seemed to excel at math, knew how to add double and triple digit problems using the method of adding all of the first digit, then all of the second, and all of the third. I was impressed by these few students, but not many were at that level.
What surprised you?
I had manipulatives at my station so that the children could use those to count, instead of their fingers. They were colorful and in a bucket at the center of the table. In the past week, the children loved using all of the materials we placed at the center of their tables, so I was surprised that no one wanted to use these to help them with math. I had to give each child the manipulatives and show each child exactly how to use them. Even after I demonstrated how to use the manipulatives to solve the problems, they still wanted to use their fingers.
What adjustments did you make to your lesson to meet the needs of your learners?
Originally I expected that the children would be able to read the word problem and immediately know how to solve it because I made each set of word problems based on that level's curriculum. The younger children could not read the word problems so I had to read the problems to them. Then, they were not even sure what type of problem it was. I ended up working through each problem individually with each group. I read, or had them read the problem, then I had them write down what type of problem they thought it was (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division). Then, we talked through their answer. The children that came up with the write answer explained why their answer was right and the children that came up with the wrong answer learned why their answer was wrong. Using this process seemed to help each child understand the problems better.
How did this week’s experiences inform your teaching practice?
I realized this week that, when it comes to math, I prefer older children. Math is a difficult subject to teach and I never realized how difficult. Math is my favorite subject so I thought I would enjoy teaching math, but it was a little frustrating. I have learned that there are many different ways to teach a child how to do a single problem. I will have to know a few different techniques each time I teach a math lesson so that I can help each child learn in the way that benefits them the most.
I am not sure if it is these children, or children in general, but each child relied on their fingers for doing math problems. I was not surprised to see the younger children counting on their fingers, but even the older children relied on this method. If a problem could not be done using their fingers or if they haven't memorized the answer, they could not figure out how to solve the problem. A few students, that seemed to excel at math, knew how to add double and triple digit problems using the method of adding all of the first digit, then all of the second, and all of the third. I was impressed by these few students, but not many were at that level.
What surprised you?
I had manipulatives at my station so that the children could use those to count, instead of their fingers. They were colorful and in a bucket at the center of the table. In the past week, the children loved using all of the materials we placed at the center of their tables, so I was surprised that no one wanted to use these to help them with math. I had to give each child the manipulatives and show each child exactly how to use them. Even after I demonstrated how to use the manipulatives to solve the problems, they still wanted to use their fingers.
What adjustments did you make to your lesson to meet the needs of your learners?
Originally I expected that the children would be able to read the word problem and immediately know how to solve it because I made each set of word problems based on that level's curriculum. The younger children could not read the word problems so I had to read the problems to them. Then, they were not even sure what type of problem it was. I ended up working through each problem individually with each group. I read, or had them read the problem, then I had them write down what type of problem they thought it was (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division). Then, we talked through their answer. The children that came up with the write answer explained why their answer was right and the children that came up with the wrong answer learned why their answer was wrong. Using this process seemed to help each child understand the problems better.
How did this week’s experiences inform your teaching practice?
I realized this week that, when it comes to math, I prefer older children. Math is a difficult subject to teach and I never realized how difficult. Math is my favorite subject so I thought I would enjoy teaching math, but it was a little frustrating. I have learned that there are many different ways to teach a child how to do a single problem. I will have to know a few different techniques each time I teach a math lesson so that I can help each child learn in the way that benefits them the most.
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