Reflecting On My Favourite And Least Favourite Math Courses
Hello,
For this next blog post I will be
reflecting about an activity we did in class where we chose what our
favourite class and least favourite class would be to teach, and we
discussed it with those around us. At first I chose that my favourite
class to teach would be one of the Grade 12 U level courses, because
it's the most advanced level math and the students taking it would
likely be “good” students as they are seeking to
get into University.
When it came time to choose our least
favourite class, I instantly thought about the LD level courses since
I assumed it would be low level Math, and that the students in it
would not be interested or engaged. However, as we discussed why we
thought it would be our least favourite I began to see a new
perspective on the course. My initial reaction that I would not like
the material began to change, as we began to discuss how the material
in the course is meant to be very applicable to real life. Whether
that's learning about getting a mortgage or planning the finances
behind a road trip, I began to see that this material would be more
fun to teach then I initially expected, as it is easy to see how the
students will benefit from what they're being taught.
It's fun to plan road
trips in class and to use math to do it well
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Also, as I just said while originally I
may have not been interested in the students taking the course as
they are not necessarily going to be pursuing future mathematics,
through teaching the course I will have the opportunity to maybe even
greater impact their learning. Typically those within the academic
(or University) stream courses are better at self learning the
material, where as in this class I would have to do an even better
job of teaching in order to make sure the students learn. I think
this would bring me great motivation for the class as I have the
opportunity to make an even larger impact on these students. Not only
that, but often times I will hear that students find what they learn
not applicable, but through teaching a course such as this I will be
able to see the students discover how the math they learn can be
applied in various aspects of their life.
Thus through this activity and the
discussion I had with others I have gained a much greater
appreciation and interest in teaching Math courses that aren't just
designed for those going to University, but for all the various
streams of the Math courses.
I appreciate your honesty about your perspectives on the various math courses. It will be interesting to see how you feel about them once you've had more of an opportunity to explore them during a teaching block!
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