4 – Student Thinking

“Students may have never been very good at listening to their teachers, but they never fail to imitate them.” If this quote is true, then how do I model mathematical thinking in my classroom for students to imitate? Is my student’s math thinking simply one step right after the other, clear and to the point? Or am I showing a cognitive processes that displays exploration of possible dead ends and correct paths? When I imagine how students process mathematics in their brains, I commonly forget that they do not process it the same way I do. Reading this statement sounds ridiculous, but it is easy for me to get caught up in the teacher moment, and to only look at problems from my thinking perspective. My extensive experience in mathematics gives me clues to how numbers work, how word problems are writen, and what solving techniques would be most efficent. Furthermore, my math experience does not automatically give me the answers, however it does provide important insight towards finding a solution. For instance, I usually have the next math step in the back of mind because I have taught the same lesson over and over again. Then as I go through the lesson, I may subconsciously lead a student’s thinking to the next step I want them to go to. This teaching technique is sort of like putting a carrot in front of horse; sure the animal is moving forward but do they know where they are going? I continually have to question how often I am pushing or nudging my students thinking forward without them being aware of the learning process taking place.

3-Being Myself

Teachers are unique, and so are their classrooms. This is no major news flash but it is interesting to witness how an educator’s personality can be clearly seen in their classroom management, lesson plans, and student communication. I have commonly heard that a teacher should be themselves in the classroom, but how do I monitor this? True, when I am myself I am more comfortable and natural in my classroom, which then allows me to focus more on my teaching rather then how am I appearing. However, can I gauge just how comfortable I have become in my classroom? I question whether all my characteristics in my comfort zone of being myself are suitable for reaching and expanding the needs of my students. I know that I do not have to be a robot by programming myself of the all of the best teaching practices because a strategy is only a strategy until it is implemented. That is, the teacher is the one that brings life into the theory and makes it their educational success. The key idea here is that after being in the classroom day in and day out the process can become a routine that is either keen or numb to my characteristics in the classroom. One way to keep myself aware of how my characteristics are impacting a class is to compare it to random areas of life. This reflection process can shine a different light for me to view my class. For instance, I could ask these questions:

1. If my class was a TV show what would it be?
2. If my class was a restaurant what would it be?
3. If my class was a music station what would it be?

2-Student Input

There are multiple ways to obtain student input. The most common one that I have used are course/teacher evaluations. These are valuable but the resource seems to be lacking. First, the course evaluations are usually completed in about 15 minutes as a student fills in some bubbles and may possibly write a response off the cuff to an opened question. Second, the course evaluations are at the end of the semester, thus not providing time of action to be taken by the teacher. Thidly, the design of the survey offers surface understanding and rarely challenges a student to truly reflect on their educational experience. The combination of these three factors have caused me to not to fully use the potential in my course evaluations and seek other ways to supplement.

1-Class Syllabus

Just how important is my syllabus? Some would say that it is very valuable because it is basically a contract with the students. The syllabus is designed to inform the students how the class will be managed and how they will be assessed. I understand that a syllabus is a critical form of communication, thus it should be direct and written clear as possible. But I don’t want to reflect on how to write a syllabus, I would rather contemplate how to optimize this resource.