This week on my
path in math, the main theme was the shift from traditional classrooms. During class, we spent our time learning about
blended learning and why it is important to include it in the classroom. Our "Math Mindset" Modules on the other hand, focused on allowing students to solve math problems in their own rather than memorizing one method to find the answer. Reflecting on my past experience in elementary school or even high school, I don't ever remember getting this freedom in solving math problems nor being exposed to technology to support my learning. There was always only one way to solve something using a number of steps that required memorization. This resulted in me understanding less as I just memorized the methods to solve things. This week has really opened my eyes to more teaching strategies to improve student learning yet again.
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To start,
blended learning is blend of online and face to face teaching allowing them to be independent as well in their learning so they can work at their own pace. Therefore, it combines the traditional style of teaching with the addition of technology. I believe a technology component in any lesson engages students in a new way to they are more motivated to learn. As 21st Century teachers, we need to expose students to the technology that is readily available as it is part of these students' lives every day where they are becoming more and more reliable on it. So why not include technology components to our traditional classrooms so students become more interested in what they are learning. Personally, I find technology to be fascinating as it is constantly advancing and I have become accustom to using it daily. Therefore, when it is used in a classroom, I am instantly engaged and makes learning more interesting and FUN! I believe young students feel the same way as I saw in my placement last year that my students would light up when I used technology and allowed them to be independent with it to create things. Thus, with blended learning, it gives that opportunity for differentiated instruction while finding that happy medium between teaching face to face and incorporating online tools to make understanding even better and more rich of an experience.
Some resources we explored in class include the game,
Got It which works on problem solving skills and growth mindset. You are given sets of numbers where you can perform operations to get your target number in the end. While doing this, you are timed. However, as mentioned in previous posts, math should not be about getting the answer the quickest as it is about applying your understanding which may takes others longer than others to do so I recommend pausing the timer on the side and spending time on fixing your mistakes allowing your mind to grow.
Another interest concept we explored was the
pedagogy wheel. It is designed to help educators think and how they can use mobile apps in the classroom. It focuses on different actions - create, analyze, evaluate, apply, and remember/understand. Within these actions, the wheel provides suggested apps to use to perform these actions. I can definitely see myself using this to refer to when needing to think of different apps to use for lesson that require various actions for myself and/or students.
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Lastly, the online modules this week focused on allowing students their own freedom in doing math. Using visual representations such as drawing out a problem can make it simpler to solve. Rather than memorizing formulas or rules, representing the problem in a picture makes it more relatable (ie. representing fractions as a chocolate bar) and easier to understand. In addition, we as teachers should discourage memorization in math and focus more on the understanding. As the solve math in their own way, they are applying their understanding so it makes sense for them.
In following our theme of blended learning, I had an A-HA moment about how our Math Mindset modules is Pat's way of using blended learning!! I can't wait to incorporate blended learning like this in my own teaching practices to engage students and help them learn the way they know how.
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Hi Lianne,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post! I agree that when technology is incorporated into a lesson, the students are more engaged and motivated to learn. Technology is such a large part of children's lives now that it makes sense to transition this into the classroom as well. I also discussed the pedagogy wheel in my blog for this week, and it is a neat reference to see which apps are suitable for each level of the SAMR model. Concerning the mindset module videos, it is important that students understand the math rather than memorize a lot of rules and methods as this does not display mathematical understanding. Using drawings or other visual representations seems to help solve a math problem a lot easier, but I am not in the habit of drawing or sketching out math problems. This is something I am going to try to work on in the future. Great post!
Cindy
Hi Lianne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a very informative post about blended learning! Like you, I cannot wait to use blended learning in my next few placements, and throughout my career as well. There are so many great ways to use technology and face-to-face interactions in the classroom that can help benefit student learning and engagement. As a student, I always felt pressured to get the correct answers by using the methods the teacher had given in class, rather than drawing out what I understood from certain problems (as I am a visual learner). By watching the videos from the math module this week, I hope that I can include fun and innovative tools in my own lessons that help students figure out what methods work best for them. Great post!
Hi Lianne,
ReplyDeleteI also did not get that freedom to solve math problems that you discussed, and this is unfortunate as I believe I would have enjoyed math tremendously more. However, I am happy that this reflection has allowed you to see more teaching strategies, as this will create more meaningful and memorable lessons for your students and yes, these lessons can also be integrated with technology! Technology is more accessible to a wide variety of learners. When all learners are reflected in the lesson, all learners will be engaged. I can’t wait to incorporate technology into my lessons.
Great post this week!
Hi Lianne,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post this week! I think that a lot of teachers are hesitant to incorporate technology into their lessons and created a blended learning style in their classroom because of the lack of information they have on the topics. One way that we could bridge the gap between teachers who are comfortable with technology and this model and teachers who aren't, could be to pair up teaching partners to share ideas and resources or offer professional development workshops to support teachers. Although this would depend on the admin of the schools. I like that blended learning incorporates the same expectations, but offers it in a different engaging way for students.
Hi Lianne!
ReplyDeleteI love that you mentioned the game 'Got It' in your post. I think that is a great resource for students because it allows them to pick their starting point and challenge themselves as they see fit. It is also independent so they don't have to worry about where they are in comparison to their peers.
I am unsure why but I still often find myself being 'wow'd' by the many online learning opportunities there are for teaching mathematics. Blended learning is very ideal for teaching math because it allows students to make connections with the technological world they are constantly wrapped in, advance their 21st century skills while finding ways to make personal connections with what they are learning.
Hi Lianne,
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part about your blog this week was your reflection back from your placement: that you were able to incorporate blended learning in the classroom is awesome (and I'm jealous). I think about what you said about how you enjoy a blended learning environment rich with choice and engagement, so it's only natural that our students would also appreciate those same things! I look forward to incorporating more of these characteristics in my future teaching, and knowing that you were successful in doing so is very motivational!
Thank you!
Hi Lianne,
ReplyDeleteI love that you are so invested in technology! Technology is such an awesome thing to be able to integrate into your classroom, and your students will love it for sure! I definitely envy your ability to be able to pick up technology quickly, as it tends to be something I somewhat struggle with. Being able to provide students with a mix of in-class and online learning will be a great way to access more learners in your classroom!