Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Pre-course reading (Chapter 2)

Having read through Chapter 2, I am determined to revamp my teaching style in class. As mentioned in the textbook that a classroom environment does somehow or rather impact the learning of the children.

I felt that it is time for me to change my teaching style to make learning math fun for the children, instead of me teaching the children the concept I wanted them to learn through teaching aids.

I felt that I need to provide the opportunity for the children to post questions and also to ask open ended questions to get the children thinking and construct their own understanding of the concept instead of me telling them the concepts and giving our activity sheet thereafter to gauge their understanding of the topic (Which was the way I was taught when I was young)

I believe that an enriching and welcoming learning environment is essential for learners in whichever subject they are learning.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Pre-course reading (Chapter 1)

The moment I receive the course module from the school, I was like... "Oh, Math! Will I ever make it for this module?" After reading Chapter 1, I felt that I can really identify with the teaching principle under the 6 principles and standards for school Mathematics.

I felt that the teaching principle is very important as I believe that a teacher really makes a different in a child's life. Not only does a teacher need to understand what he or she is teaching, they too need to be creative in their teaching styles or methods in order to draw the learner's (student) attention and interest in what they are teaching.

It's a curse that since primary school that I never do well in Mathematics. Since primary five, I have no idea of what the teacher is teaching me. Primary five is the year of turning point for my attitude towards Math. I can clearly remembered how Mr Tham looked like, and the exact words which he used to swear at our class (Bas*&^d, Idi#t, Sh%t). If my parents were educated back then, he would be on the headlines! That very year was the year where my Mathematic grades falls towards single digit in my entire life. That was how bad it was.

Moving on to Secondary school, Mathematics was a subject that I drag attending. All those formulars that the teacher made us memoried were meaningless to me, I remembered them for the sake of remembering. I thought that I was allergied to numbers, ironically I did well for my Principle of Accounts. Hence, I thought, I'm not that bad with numbers though.

Looking back, I believe that it is the different approach the teachers used. I am really grateful to Ms You who taught me Principle of Accounts with her creative ways and not just drilling and practising.

To sum up, I felt that this particular principle not only applies to Mathematics, it apply to any topic or subjects a teacher teaches. Let's all reflect in our teaching and get creative with our teaching to make an impact in our student's learning.