Catching Up Week Six Blog Notice

Since I missed the class on Oct 12th due to sickness, I did not post any in-class or exit slip writing in week six.
I will catch up with what is on my mind with those two questions and post a blog later this week.

Week Eight - Entrance Slip (Embodied Teaching)

My teachable subject is math and I find the content in my subject fall on two extremes - embodied learning can be very useful in some area and can be no use in some area.

For shapes, trignometry and functions, using models and motions in the learning could help student understand and remember more about the content. However, I do not find embodied learning useful when doing numbers, algebra and pre-calculus (especially for secondary level), since these area are more theoretical and difficult to apply to actual objects.

When teaching 3-D measurement, we could use irregular shaped objects and ask students to “measure” them. Since many things in daily life is different from theories - most of them are irregular figures so that formula cannot be applied perfectly and disconnect math and real life. We could teach them different ways to measure objects based on formula and connect math with actual things again.

Although I think it is difficult to apply embodied learning in algebra, I find a good counter example in math history class. Some students have gone through mental arithmetic training and able to calculate rapidly mentally, they move their hands (with the imaginary abaci) and get answers in few seconds. I am not sure weather this could be thought as a kind of embodied practice.

Week Seven - Exit Slip (Inquiry Idea)

I am thinking about two ideas - the first one is about classroom management and how to help students who get bullied, another one is about mental arithmetic and math songs.

The first one might be a big topic and be difficult to do research about, however this concern is useful  for all kinds of classrooms.

The second topic is more concerned about elementary math teaching, while I am in secondary session. I find that students who have gone under mental arithmetic training can react faster towards numbers and hope it could combine with our life and some extreme situation when calculators are not appliable.

Week Seven - Entrance Slip (Grading)

The usage of grading is that it may indicate how much students could understand the course content and if they are good enough to carry on to the higher level. And students who worked hard and had interesting idea of math deserve a good grade. However, many people relates good grade with intelligence, and this is the reason that students who are regarded to be “gifted and clever” are usually be outgoing and quick learners. There are different types of learners and they have their pace of learning, but they would not get good grade if they did not get the answer “correct and fast”, and this force many students who are “deep thinker” and “slow learner” to disorder their pace in order to satisfy teacher’s needs. I doubt that our grading system might be not friendly and appropriate to all students.

My own experience is that as a introverted “deep thinker”, I hardly ever perform on math class and was tagged as no talent in math during middle school but I majored in math in my university (which means I was wrongly tagged). In schools, students who get good grades were in two categories - hard-working students and talented students. Teachers obviously prefer students who were more diligent and obedient to teachers. However, students hate hard-working peers because it is not “cool”, so students often show themselves as not working hard in order to not be hated but tend to study hard outside school for good grades. Also, students think getting good grades without hard work is an evidence of being talented and it is “cool”.

Unfortunately, although I mentioned about many negative aspects of grading system, I could not imagine a math class without being grades. It is like what is being mentioned in the article - we are like hamsters in the rolling cage, and once they get in the “cage”, what they can do is running and it is extremely difficult to get out of the “cage”. However, I hope to stop students from getting into the “prison” that many of us had been at, and tell them math is supposed to be beautiful and fun. Maybe the cage is difficult to be break, but we can change the grading system cage into a park so that students could enjoy and be less anxious about their grades - that is, change the grading system to be more flexible and do not just students based on their grades.

Week Five - Exit Slip (Teaching in Garden)

Similar to what I mentioned in entrance slip, it is easier to understand about math when connected to real world examples. I also noticed that there are many things in nature are connected with math. For example, I mentioned in the class that I found a four-leaf clover in the garden. By comparing with regular three-leaf clover, I notice that four-leaf clover is similar to an order 4 imperfect squared square and three-leaf clover is similar to a equilateral triangle. And if this happens to a math lesson in a garden, it is easier to introduce these two concepts. I have drawn a picture for my example.

Also, the dancing for making the weaving work is interesting. It involves number theory since the work can only be completed with even number of people. By dancing with each other, it may raise the sense of belonging of the class and could help with their studies mentally as well.

However, I do have negative concern about study garden. For example, some students who have vision problem or physically disabled may find this method is unfriendly to them. Also, students may get distracted by plants and other things in the garden and have less motivation to be engaged in the class. It is also not beneficial for students who prefer staying indoor to learn in the garden because they do not like staying outside. The most difficult thing for teachers is that there are “unknown danger” outdoor and if difficult to take care students and their safety (and extremely difficult for teachers in young elementary since students may eat plants and other inedible objects in the garden).

Week Five - Entrance Slip (Teaching in Garden)

In the article, it mentioned advantages of teaching in garden for ELL students and students from other culture. I agree that it is a chance for ELL students get engaged to course content and an opportunity for them to learn English. I also have a concern about how culture are different. In many Asian culture, good children are expected to be quiet, obeying and staying indoor reading books and learning all the time. I suppose this is a reason what Asian people are usually regarded as quiet and nerdy. As one of them, I was shocked when I took my first class in the garden. Since I am too used to staying indoor and do not do exercise, learning outdoor is physically struggling to me. However, having classes in garden may get students concern about doing more exercise and staying healthy. This would encourage students that are like me to get out of the "block" of being a "good Asian student" and get more adapted to Canadian culture.

Another thing I am thinking about is learning in garden can weaken the border of rural education and urban education. Many students who grown up in cities may not have chances to stay in gardens and apply mathematic knowledge. However, students in rural area may be experienced in gardening, and this would be a good chance for them to connect math to their daily life. It would be a good chance for students no matter if they are from urban or rural area to know about how math can be applied to gardening.

Week Four - Exit Slip (Art of Praising and Blaming)

As a teacher, it is important to know "the art of praising and blaming". Although praising students may motivate them more than blaming them, blaming is necessary. 

It is usually better to give positive comment on what students have done. If they do things well, we need to praise their behaviour and what positive effect it brings rather than their identities. When we praise, it is better to tell them that they helped with somethings and thank them. There is also art of blaming them. Blaming students may make them notice their mistake or remind them to improve. Teachers would better tell them if there is anything they can do better while blaming them. Teachers are responsible for leading students to improve and keep them on the right track. Since human could make mistakes and we are all human, teachers need to to tolerance on students mistake and do not blame them all the time.