Having finished my first year teaching, and still having no formal training as a teacher, I have learned a lot through trial and error. in some ways I think that this could make me a better teacher. While I am in the classroom to teach, I have found that I learn almost as much from my students about me. Some of the best advice that I have received about teaching was, “Don't only know what kind of teacher you want to be, but also know what kind of teacher you don’t want to be.” This is good because, as a math teacher, I have had many math teachers, some great, others not so much. From this wide range of teaching, from a student’s perspective, I know what a teacher has done to help me be successful, and what others have done that has not worked.
I still want to encouragement, motivation, and leave my students to struggle the right amount. Like, what many of what I consider to be my best teachers, I hope to be able to provide my students with the same support and encouragement that I was shown to make my students the best mathematicians they can be.
By encouraging my students to do the best that they can, the student should be more willing to take chances that otherwise they may not be willing to take. I motivate my students by ensuring that they receive credit for what they do correctly and identify the point where the mistake was made. Above all I will purposely leave my students to solve problems above the level that I teach to, in order for them to gain a sense of pride and mastery over the idea that I am teaching them in that lesson. These three ideas plus the use of humor, technology, and some entertainment allows me to present information to my students, most of whom have major mental blocks against school in-general, and math specifically.
No comments:
Post a Comment