Throughout my education, I have experienced many positive and some negative impacts, especially when it comes to math. I have never considered myself a “math person” because I was never as good as I wanted to be in math. During my early elementary years in school, I remember using colorful Cuisenaire rods. We used them for adding and subtracting, as well as learning and practicing with fractions. They were also beneficial to work with in learning base ten. I really liked using the Cuisenaire rods because it really helped me visualize exactly what the teacher was trying to explain, which would otherwise seem more like a foreign language.
I am a very visual person, especially when it comes to math. If I don’t see it, at least on a picture or a diagram, there’s not much of a chance I will understand the mathematical concept being introduced. I am also a kinesthetic learner, so I liked touching and playing with a pizza or pie when learning about a whole and a fraction. It didn’t have to be a real pizza, just a cardboard or plastic pizza, or even a picture of one with the pieces of paper cut out and reassembled, like a puzzle.
Another positive experience I remember was making a flip book in 3rd grade when learning my multiplication tables. Even though it was something as boring as memorizing multiplication tables, I didn’t mind making the book so much. As a kid, and even now, I have always enjoyed working creatively and making my own individual projects. My mom also helped me make flash cards, which we used to practice with every day so I got faster and better. These really helped me when I learned multiplication and division. Once again, it was something concrete that I could see right in front of me.
For me, math was not a negative thing until I got into middle school and started learning algebra. Algebra confused me; letters mixed with numbers made me cringe. It still does to this day. In college, I failed the first college algebra class that I took because the teacher did not explain how he was working the problems and only gave the most basic examples. When I got to the more complex problems on the test, they intimidated me and I didn’t know how to work them, so consequently I got them wrong. When I repeated the course over the summer, I signed up for a different teacher, whose classes filled up before 8:30 am because she was such a great instructor. She gave many examples ranging from the easiest, most straightforward problems to the most complex, and explained the history of doing these problems a certain way, why they were done that way, and how we could apply the concepts to our math that we were currently doing. I made an A in the class.
Based on these educational and mathematical experiences that I’ve had over the years, I will be sure to implement many manipulatives and hands-on activities as a teacher. Keeping in mind that I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, I will be sure to use many visual examples, diagrams, and solid, three dimensional objects that my students can easily see and touch. I plan to use pattern blocks, Cuisenaire rods, flashcards, and various fun math games and manipulatives with which my students can practice in the classroom. I will also be sure to explain every new concept in great detail and give reasons as to why the math is done a certain way. I will give my students as many examples as they need to get the mathematical concepts I am introducing. I will give them many opportunities to practice together in groups as well as individually, since some of the students might have a better understanding of the mathematical concepts and be able to explain them in more depth to the students who are having difficulty grasping them. Communication is a vital tool to utilize in any subject, including math.
