Haley's Second Year Math Reflections

Differentiated Instruction Doesn't Have to be Daunting  J This past week we looked at an article detailing differentiated instruction in mathematics: DifferentiatingMathematics Instruction . We also watched videos detailing why making mistakes in mathematics is a good thing and actually leads to success. In class the learning goals were to explore more instructional methods of differentiation, explore strategies for working with English Language Learners, and gaining skill in recognizing rich tasks and using parallel tasks (which also overlaps with the article on differentiation that I mentioned we read.             First things first, differentiating instruction can appear to be a daunting task. That is definitely what I thought when I was first exposed to and taught the concept during my first year of teacher’s college. Unfortunately, that concept continues to seem challenging. However, I belie...

Problem-Solving, Real-Life, Inclusion, and Collaboration https://pixabay.com/en/school-back-to-school-education-2596090/ "Back to School" by Simisi1 Last week my blog post focused on math myths, misconceptions, stereotypes, and how math contributes to brain growth. This week’s online module as well as class activities, lesson, and discussions, included great talk about growth mindset as well, but allowed me to experience growth mindset. During the first Settler activity we did in class, I was initially anxious as my “mental” math skills have never been relatively strong. However, it was stressed that it was more the process of the activity than the final answer that mattered. I knew that my effort would be celebrated rather than how fast or how effectively I came to the answer. When taking on this mindset I started having more fun, became more confident, and actually improved with each new equation. This really made it clear to me that the strategy is mu...