With regard to teaching children mathematics, when I reflect back on the greatest 'learning' I have experienced this semester it becomes a toss-up between 'a right and wrong answer in mathematics' and also learning that children can be good at both mathematics and Language arts, it doesn't have to be one or the other. It was a significant learning experience to think about 'why does there have to be a right and wrong answer in mathematics, isn't it right if the person can justify their answer?' When I learned mathematics in Primary/ Elementary I always thought the teacher always knew the right answer and even if someone found another solution to get the same answer, the teacher's solution to the problem was always the 'most correct answer'. I learned mathematics with this mindset and it was difficult to see beyond it, but once I entered this class and thought more deeply about this it made me feel sad because this idea was limiting the way that I learned mathematics as a child for many years. I remember doing questions directly from the text book independently, during class time in Primary/ Elementary and once the questions were complete we were suppose to go to the back of the text book and check our answers to see if they were 'right'. Reflecting back on this experience now, I think about how this instructional time could have been more valuable by the teacher doing questions and interacting with the class rather than, doing the questions, checking our answers and if they were 'wrong', fixing them to make sure we got the same answer as the one in the back of the textbook. I have learned that I want to be a teacher who uses instructional time wisely and uses mathematics to interact with my students to help them understand the concepts. It is important to not think of yourself, as a teacher, as the smartest person in the classroom and believe that you are the only person who knows the 'right' answer. As teachers, we have a lot to learn from our students and if we take the time to let them talk about problems and solutions rather than telling them the answer, it can be valuable for the teacher to find out just how their minds think while problem solving.
The second Think that I am taking away from this course as a valuable learning experience is how children can be good thinkers of mathematics and also great writers of language arts. I was always told that children were either "good at math or good at writing" and because I was a good writer, it was okay that I struggled with mathematics. I guess I never really thought about that until I began this course, because nothing can be further from the truth, I think that being told this was the most damaging thing for me because I felt like if I was good at Language arts then I couldn't succeed in mathematics. This statement was damaging, especially to my confidence because when I felt challenged in mathematics I always though 'it's okay because I can't be good at both'. I was not only told this by teachers but also by my mother, who was also told this as a child. I was told that boys were better with mathematics than girls and that my Dad was good with mathematics and not great with writing, and my mom was the opposite good at wring but struggled with mathematics. I always thought that I was like my mother and I guess I never really thought that I could be good at mathematics because: 1.) I was a good writer and 2.) because I was a girl. I think I always thought the odds were against me and that I could not be good at both so I accepted that. But reflecting on these things now makes me feel sad because maybe if I had better confidence I would have tried harder rather that accepting something so far from the truth. I truly believe that this is where my lack of confidence in mathematics stems from and I just didn't think that I could be skilled in both mathematics and writing.
As a teacher of mathematics for children and with these things in mind I will have a more positive outlook for children who struggle with mathematics. In Boaler's article, the most prominent of the five research results that can transform math learning for me was number five: "Teacher's messages are hugely powerful". If teachers can have such a huge impact on their students, why not make encouraging and uplifting messages that will inspire and give children courage. I will be able to tell my students that I believe in them and that I know that they can do it. I believe that all children need is for teachers and others to believe in them in order to give them confidence in their work. I believe it is very important to tell students that you believe in them, they look up to their teacher and I think that children value this statement coming from their teacher.
