Too often math is looked at as the subject with no room for creativity. I have found that the more you use technology to teach your math lesssons, the more you will have the attention from your students. I hear the words, "I hate math" on a reagular basis from all levels of learners. Math at one time was my major so I obviously have a different passion for the subject, but I do believe there are ways to make math enjoyable for the teacher and learner. I personally have looked up ways to integrate technology into my math lessons to make it unique for each student. My favorite ideas include camaras, Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excell. With early grades you can do a number of different activites with camaras to hit all of the math standards and incorporate many differnet other subject standards. For example, you could buy a cheap set of digital camaras for your classroom (small ones with just the basics) and take them outside to capture their own colors, animals, shapes, etc. Then as a class they can upload these pictures into a slideshow. Math is no longer memorizing your times tables. There are ways to make math exciting and new everyday!
When I think of math, I tend to think of sitting at my desk memorizing formulas and doing several problems for homework. Even today, my geometry class has a set way of doing things and we never deviate from the plan. The routine has always been the same. The only time I remember ever doing something out of the ordinary was while working with coordinate planes but even that didn't last very long. I would have loved for your ideas to have been an option for me in school. Unfortunately, today I am one of those people who says "I hate math." Creativity is definitely lacking when it comes to mathematics in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the idea of putting a spin on the way math is taught. Until I read your post, I had come to terms with math not being creative or interesting to teach. I didn't feel like you could really do anything to make math exciting and engaging. The camera idea is a great one. It reminds me of our PBL project and how we are incorporating different aspects of learning into our main subject. It completely blows traditional math teaching methods out of the water. This is how I want to teach. Lets reach through to our students through innovative ways of teaching. I can't wait to be able to utilize different activities to encourage students in math.