This week was another enriching week for me as an educator because I was challenged and learned about many education related topics. In my technology class I got a chance to learn about the work of Sugata Mitra who is an expert in student driven learning. In his TED talk he revealed his research on how students are able to learn so much when they are interested in a subject and are able to discuss in small groups. When the students are able to facilitate their own learning they become self motivated and reach their maximum potential. In addition, I learned about more applications which I could use to help my students visualize the lesson I am teaching, like a timeline for example.
My main focus this week was building on my research for my Genius Hour question which looks into the academic benefits of participation in sport for students. So far I have learned that there are almost endless benefits to enrolling in school sports. One of the main reasons I have discovered is that participating in sports can teach life skills which can be transferred to the classroom. Traits like determination, co-operation, and leadership are just some of the skills learned when you are involved in a sport. It also provides an opportunity to build deep relationships with your peers and connect to a teacher-coach. Sport also is a motivation to perform better in school for reasons like scholarships or the need to maintain a certain average in order to participate. Sport also reduces stress levels and provides an avenue of escape for many kids.
Despite this plethora of information, there are still some challenges that have already arisen and some questions I need to address. One is that there is so much information that I need to find a way to organize it all into succinct categories. In addition, I want to know if there are any statistics proving that these benefits have in the classroom. Is it possible to measure how the development of life skills help in the classroom? Also, do I discuss some of the possible consequences of participating in sport? Another challenge that I have come across is information from a student perspective and what students say are the benefits of them participating.
In order to progress in my Genius Hour research I believe I need to categories the topics I want to explore and find the appropriate avenues of information. Also, I believe I need to widen my search by looking at a variety of sources. I must also search for research which demonstrates the direct relation between sports and academic success or see if that is possible to be measured.
Tuesday, 27 September 2016
Monday, 26 September 2016
Welcome Post to Math Blog
Hello to all my readers! This post is to welcome you to my math blog which I will continue to update throughout my studies. I am currently a Teacher Education student at Brock University and I am passionate about helping students not only improve in their mathematics skills, but also in helping them in their overall growth as a student. Although many students struggle with math, it is a vital knowledge one must have to live in the present world. Let's face it, math is all around us everyday and we need to know the fundamentals in order to productive members of society. This blog will present tools and strategies to help students develop their skills which will aim to make the students better at mathematics as well as develop their problem solving abilities. How can we get students excited about math? What strategies can be made to use math as a step in their growth as a student? These are just examples of questions that I believe we need to be asking as educators to improve in our ability to teach this subject. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I will hope you continue to follow it as it is my intention to make it a wealth of knowledge and ideas about this important subject.
Reflection Blog September 20
Welcome readers to my math blog post! Here I hope that you will find a deep source of information regarding the education of mathematics to students. The purpose of this post is to do some reflection after one of the classes I attended which will had a profound impact on my approach as a teacher of mathematics.
The first topic that I learned about was what math teachers need to know in order to be effective educators on the subject. Math teachers do not need to be expert mathematicians, but they do need to have a good understanding of the concepts. Instead, math teachers must have the pedagogical content knowledge to know how to teach math, meaning they must know how to unpack the knowledge they have and connect it to other concepts. They must also be able to predict how ideas about math blossom and how answers can be made using different avenues. For example, here is an example of an algorithm that can be used for subtracting two numbers that is not often used. As math teachers we must understand how a student could get to an answer like this and not restrict them to only one method of arriving at an answer.
During the class we also began to debunk some common myths that have been pervasive in mathematics education and affects the outcome of its students. The most common myth that has been told is that only some people are naturally gifted while others are not. This creates a belief that those who struggle at math were almost genetically inclined to do so when this is simply not true. The truth is, every child has the capability to be great at math if they are willing to put dedicated work into their pursuit of success in mathematics. This was an "ah-ha" for me because this myth was one that I believed in for many years. As a result, I just simply accepted the fact that I was not good at math and for many years did not do well in it. However, the mind of a child has an incredible ability to grow and be successful at math. With this knowledge I now have a completely new approach when it comes to instructing mathematics because now when I teach a child who is struggling I know they have the potential to get the concepts. Here is a video which further illustrates these math myths.
We also got a chance to learn about how teaching mathematics is now different in the present day society. Math is no longer about just question and answer, but about students inquiring about mathematical processes. In fact, in order to build on the problem solving skills of students I learned that teachers should pose open questions so that students ask what it needs in order to answer it. In conclusion, every student has the potential to excel at math and we as teachers need to be ready to foster that potential into growth.
The first topic that I learned about was what math teachers need to know in order to be effective educators on the subject. Math teachers do not need to be expert mathematicians, but they do need to have a good understanding of the concepts. Instead, math teachers must have the pedagogical content knowledge to know how to teach math, meaning they must know how to unpack the knowledge they have and connect it to other concepts. They must also be able to predict how ideas about math blossom and how answers can be made using different avenues. For example, here is an example of an algorithm that can be used for subtracting two numbers that is not often used. As math teachers we must understand how a student could get to an answer like this and not restrict them to only one method of arriving at an answer.
During the class we also began to debunk some common myths that have been pervasive in mathematics education and affects the outcome of its students. The most common myth that has been told is that only some people are naturally gifted while others are not. This creates a belief that those who struggle at math were almost genetically inclined to do so when this is simply not true. The truth is, every child has the capability to be great at math if they are willing to put dedicated work into their pursuit of success in mathematics. This was an "ah-ha" for me because this myth was one that I believed in for many years. As a result, I just simply accepted the fact that I was not good at math and for many years did not do well in it. However, the mind of a child has an incredible ability to grow and be successful at math. With this knowledge I now have a completely new approach when it comes to instructing mathematics because now when I teach a child who is struggling I know they have the potential to get the concepts. Here is a video which further illustrates these math myths.
We also got a chance to learn about how teaching mathematics is now different in the present day society. Math is no longer about just question and answer, but about students inquiring about mathematical processes. In fact, in order to build on the problem solving skills of students I learned that teachers should pose open questions so that students ask what it needs in order to answer it. In conclusion, every student has the potential to excel at math and we as teachers need to be ready to foster that potential into growth.
Thursday, 15 September 2016
Genius Hour Reflection Blog
Hello to my readers! Today in class we explored further into the concept of Genius Hour and I got a chance to formulate a Genius Hour question I would like to explore. My question is: what are the benefits of participation on extracurricular school sports for students? I would like to look at this not only from an academic perspective, but also social and how it aids in the overall development of the student. My goal for this project of exploration is to find out more information about how athletics can help students grow in the classroom and provide them with valuable life lessons. I would also like to share this information to those worried about getting involved in athletics in fear it will harm their academic performance. With this I hope to grow student participation in sports because I believe it helps in their development as a student. Since this is a research based question I think I can measure my progress by the amount of research I collect. I can also measure my progress by how I am developing in the formulation of a stance I will take on this subject. I am excited to take on this project because I was a student and varsity athlete throughout my academic career and would like to understand how this can help me in the classroom. As a coach, I am also motivated to be able to share this information with my players to encourage them to keep participating in athletics.
We also got a chance in class today to work on this Genius Hour question using Google slides and developing a proposal as to the steps and reasoning for developing this question. This would be a great activity that I could do with my students because it would give them a chance to create a layout for the Genius Hour topic. I would have each of the students create a presentation and prepare to share it in with their classmates. After they present, I would have each of the students to provide feedback to the presenters. This would require each student to have time with a computer to create their presentation and then a projector so they could share it with the class. This not only gets them thinking about their project, but also develop their oral communication skills.
Thank you for reading!
We also got a chance in class today to work on this Genius Hour question using Google slides and developing a proposal as to the steps and reasoning for developing this question. This would be a great activity that I could do with my students because it would give them a chance to create a layout for the Genius Hour topic. I would have each of the students create a presentation and prepare to share it in with their classmates. After they present, I would have each of the students to provide feedback to the presenters. This would require each student to have time with a computer to create their presentation and then a projector so they could share it with the class. This not only gets them thinking about their project, but also develop their oral communication skills.
Thank you for reading!
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