My Philosophy of Teaching Mathematics
Mathematics has always been my favorite subject. I love the formulas, the specific steps, and the finite answer at the end of the problem. That feeling of satisfaction when you finally find the answer to a particularly challenging question is incomparable to anything else. As much as I truly enjoy math in the classroom, I am also in awe of its application in everyday life. Math is everywhere, from the engineering of building an airplane to the construction of a house and even further than that. It has been here since the beginning of time when the cave men told time by using the sun. It has engrained itself into the roots of humanity. Therefore, every math teacher has a responsibility to facilitate the value of math into the minds of their students in such a way that students will comprehend and appreciate in order to enhance their future lives.
As a math teacher, there are many things to consider in order to accomplish that goal. My math classroom must be fun, interesting, and interactive in order to hold the attention of every single one of my students. Learning styles in a classroom, including visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, can be very diverse, challenging the skills of a teacher to keep everyone involved. Fun, hands-on, real world math experiments can help with this. For example, a lesson involving growth and decay graphs can be taught doing an experiment with m&m’s, and then the students can eat them afterwards. Or another experiment can be testing bridge sizes and lengths using penny weight on paper bridges. By incorporating real life situations into my math lessons, students can begin to understand how important math is and why they need to learn it.
Math experiments such as the ones previously mentioned can be used to address other skills as well. These experiments can be done using teaching methods like cooperative learning and partners to help address all the different needs and abilities of the class. Cooperative learning allows the students to learn from each other and develop communication and interactive skills. Learning to work well with others and share ideas is a critical attribute to have when applying for a job. Other important attributes that apply to math are problem solving, critical thinking, and analyzing. All of these characteristics are taught in a math classroom, and no matter what job you are applying for, they will be helpful. Engineers, doctors, secretaries, restaurant managers, and store owners all need these skills in order to do their jobs. Paying attention in math class can really be beneficial to your future.
Math will always be useful in the real world, no matter what the occupation or career path. Acquiring skills like problem solving and analytic thinking in a math classroom can make you more marketable in the future for a job. These skills can also be useful in everyday life for things like following a recipe or buying a house. The real life applications to math are endless. In teaching math, my ultimate goal is to show my students the infinite applications of math and instill in them the importance of learning math in the world we live in.
Mathematics has always been my favorite subject. I love the formulas, the specific steps, and the finite answer at the end of the problem. That feeling of satisfaction when you finally find the answer to a particularly challenging question is incomparable to anything else. As much as I truly enjoy math in the classroom, I am also in awe of its application in everyday life. Math is everywhere, from the engineering of building an airplane to the construction of a house and even further than that. It has been here since the beginning of time when the cave men told time by using the sun. It has engrained itself into the roots of humanity. Therefore, every math teacher has a responsibility to facilitate the value of math into the minds of their students in such a way that students will comprehend and appreciate in order to enhance their future lives.
As a math teacher, there are many things to consider in order to accomplish that goal. My math classroom must be fun, interesting, and interactive in order to hold the attention of every single one of my students. Learning styles in a classroom, including visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, can be very diverse, challenging the skills of a teacher to keep everyone involved. Fun, hands-on, real world math experiments can help with this. For example, a lesson involving growth and decay graphs can be taught doing an experiment with m&m’s, and then the students can eat them afterwards. Or another experiment can be testing bridge sizes and lengths using penny weight on paper bridges. By incorporating real life situations into my math lessons, students can begin to understand how important math is and why they need to learn it.
Math experiments such as the ones previously mentioned can be used to address other skills as well. These experiments can be done using teaching methods like cooperative learning and partners to help address all the different needs and abilities of the class. Cooperative learning allows the students to learn from each other and develop communication and interactive skills. Learning to work well with others and share ideas is a critical attribute to have when applying for a job. Other important attributes that apply to math are problem solving, critical thinking, and analyzing. All of these characteristics are taught in a math classroom, and no matter what job you are applying for, they will be helpful. Engineers, doctors, secretaries, restaurant managers, and store owners all need these skills in order to do their jobs. Paying attention in math class can really be beneficial to your future.
Math will always be useful in the real world, no matter what the occupation or career path. Acquiring skills like problem solving and analytic thinking in a math classroom can make you more marketable in the future for a job. These skills can also be useful in everyday life for things like following a recipe or buying a house. The real life applications to math are endless. In teaching math, my ultimate goal is to show my students the infinite applications of math and instill in them the importance of learning math in the world we live in.