Teamwork Makes The Dreamwork

As we get closer to our first teaching block I feel that it is necessary to reflect upon some of my experiences that have happened so far in our mathematics class. I personally feel that my thoughts and opinions of math have drastically changed from negative to positive and this is due to my experiences working with new fun and engaging concepts. This class has given me confidence by showing me a multitude of new ways to make math inclusive, fun and educational. It has also showed me the amount of resources that a available for teachers to improve the learning experiences in their classrooms.The text and technological resources that we have used in class have giving me much more confidence knowing that there is something that I can turn to for ideas and additional support.

This week, we began the class with another collaborated activity. We had coloured Popsicle sticks with numbers ranging from 1 o 6 and each of us picked a number to form a group of six.  This is a great technique because it helps establish groups with some choice but also allows for students to work with some new faces and get to know their classmates. I can definitely see myself using this strategy in my classroom. I think that this strategy works well to promote an inclusive environment in your classroom.

Once we were in our groups, we had a choice to select a station where different types of tasks were placed at each table. The first two stations that my group chose had a mathematical problem that involved toothpicks. Using toothpicks, we had to use the 5 descriptive cards to try and create the shape that the cards were describing.  This activity was somewhat challenging because you had to use the descriptive cards to create the shape. Even with the collaboration of your group members, it still provided a challenge.

The third station had a similar objective using descriptive cards to create a shape, except this time the cards were used to create a pattern. We used the manipulatives to create the pattern in the image posted below:

The activities in our class this week were excellent. It felt great to work with my classmates to try and solve these fun and interactive problems. I really do enjoy and appreciate the use of physical manipulatives and I believe that they are very beneficial to accelerate students learning. To conclude my blog post this week, I would like to say that I am actually kind of sad that class will be coming to an end. I wish that I could absorb more of the mathematical concepts and content before I enter my teaching block. With that being said, I am very grateful for everything that I have learned during my time in math class and I look forward to using all that I have learned in my teaching block to try and heighten my students learning experience and perhaps teach them things that I may have not had the opportunity to learn when I was in grade school.