Assignment 1 Report

Assignment 1 Report

(Group Members: Michelle Davis, Hong Jiang and Nadine Lundie)

PART 1 – Mathematics Teacher

We chose to ask our five burning questions to two different math teachers with varying experience. The first teacher interviewed had graduated from the UBC four years ago and has been teaching grade 11 and 12 math. The second teacher is the Senior Math Expert and has 30 years of high school teaching experience. We decided to ask two teachers with different levels of teaching experience to compare our results.

We found the answers were quite different in that the responses from the recent UBC grad were responses that we as teacher candidates might have thought of. On the other hand, the responses from the experienced math teacher were quite different and her methods unexpected. For example, we asked both teachers how they approach both the students who like math and dislike math. The newer teacher said that when she has a student who is only there because it’s a requirement to graduate and they are not interested in pursuing anything mathematical after high school then she simply tells them what they need to pass. She explains the requirements for them to get a specific grade and lets the students decide for themselves what grade they want. The experienced math teacher did not bring up the notion of ‘requirement to graduate’ and said that she shows students that math is more than computation. She believes that math is a fine art and compares it to music in saying that playing scales is not all music is. She says that she teaches from the premise that math is creative, efficient, effective and fun. She believes that all students can and should have an appreciation for mathematics even if they never plan to pursue it. She is not content to just let them be.

This premise also relates to how she manages to relate math to concepts beyond the classroom. She describes math as a way of thinking which helps with organizational skills, efficient procedures and problem solving. She goes on to say that this mathematical way of thinking is used even for daily things such as your cell phone plan or relationship issues. She firmly believes that math is more than just procedures to memorize and strives to make this come across to her students.

One thing our group found interesting was how the experienced teacher incorporated topics from the real world into the classroom compared to the newer teacher. Rather than presenting or telling about real world applications, the experienced teacher posed questions or problems for the students to think about. For example, using a parabola to represent a bridge or arch she would ask the students whether they could replicate a famous structure in a different location over another river of different width or to allow for taller boats. We found this very interesting because not only is she relating math to a real problem, she is also having the students try and solve it themselves. This would be a great idea for a group project.



PART 2 – Mathematics Student

We asked our five burning questions to a high school student who likes math and a high school student who dislikes math. When considering math a mere subject, the student said that they like math because there is either a right answer or a wrong answer, and there is no maybe answers. The other student said they dislike math because they feel it is too hard for them to understand and they wait too long to ask for help until right before the unit test. Our group was wondering if perhaps the teacher was not approachable enough for extra help, or if the student already established a sense of defeat about math.

We found it interesting that the students had similar answers as to what about a specific math teacher made them their favourite. Both the students said that the teacher made math fun, used good humor and brought jokes about math into the lesson. For example, one of the students said that their teacher gave the three different forms for the equation of a line names that were funny and non-math related to help students remember. The student who disliked math said their favourite teacher explained things in the simplest and easiest way and the student who liked math said their favourite teacher did things that were hands on and interactive. One of the students also said their favourite teacher let them watch “Finding Nemo” during class. It seems to us that it is much more about the relationship that the teacher built with the kids that made them memorable.

A few of the other comments we found interesting had little to do with the content of mathematics itself. The student who likes math said that her teacher cared, wanted to help, and made sure that the students were doing okay, and not just in math. The student who dislikes math said that their favourite teacher had a positive attitude. We found this intriguing that these characteristics are completely unrelated to the subject. We have been learning that being a teacher is more than knowing and teaching your subject matter. It is also about caring for your students and their success.

Of course the issue of homework came up with both students. They both said they did not much like homework, which is not surprising. The student who dislikes math said that if too many questions were assigned they would dread even getting started on it. It’s an interesting issue; how much homework is too much? How much is not enough? As the teacher how do you treat homework in the evaluation process?

Conclusion

This interview was very eye opening for all the members in our group. We can relate to the answers from the newer math teacher, although we aspire to develop the methods of the experienced teacher. We believe the confidence and creativity this teacher brings to the classroom comes not only with experience but also with constant reflection and adaptation.

We gained a different perspective by interviewing both types of math students. We saw that they had different concerns in areas like what made learning the easiest, but they had the same ideas about homework and why a certain teacher were their favourite. We learned that the teacher having a positive attitude and caring about their personal well being, which are both unrelated to math, are more important than we previously thought.