Teaching mathematics can expand and empower the minds of young learners to help them find their true potential as mathematicians. It is important to me that I teach my students how to become strong critical thinkers and to have the ability to learn complex concepts. I believe that as teachers, we need to increase opportunities for students to engage in higher-order thinking because it will help to influence our student’s self-perceived ability to problem solve while also creating strong links between new concepts and real-world applications. Once students realize these connections, they will be able to discover their true mathematical ability and expand their capacity to think abstractly. I believe that any student can be a mathematician if they are given the right tools to succeed and the self-confidence they need to believe in themselves. Teachers can have a strong impact on their student’s lives and I hope that as a teacher, I can give my students the tools, confidence, skills and knowledge that they need to be successful. To achieve this, I’d like to provide students with many opportunities to engage in cooperative learning because when students work collaboratively, they tend to be more willing to ask questions and are able to help one another by explaining the concept in a way different from the teacher. I also think that it is important to show as many real life applications of the topics to students so that they can realize the importance of math in their everyday lives and how they will find it useful later in life, such as when they are doubling or tripling a recipe when cooking! Technology in mathematics is crucial to helping students understand different concepts because it helps them construct their own learning in authentic ways. Some different types of software and applications that I have found helpful and would love to use with my students are Geogebra, Desmos, Mathematica, LaTex, and Microsoft Excel. These applications can help me teach more effectively by helping students explore mathematical concepts more in-depth and create an active learning environment where students can do hands-on learning activities such as creating three dimensional shapes. Some of these applications provide great visuals such as Desmos with their excellent graphing features, while others can do complicated calculations in a millisecond such as Mathematica! Something that I have learned from my time at the Mount that I want to pass on to my students as a teacher is how to appreciate collaborating with others in a mathematics classroom. I want to teach my students that there isn’t always just one way to approach a problem and that by working with peers, you can see how to go about a problem a different way than you would have thought on your own.
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AuthorMadison Lee |