When life hands you lemons...

The more we explore this student centered way of teaching math the more our realism kicks in. Sure we have good intentions and great expectations. But, can this actually go from paper to live action? Right from the start we all saw holes in this plan...how long will this TAKE? We already have lots of lots of things to accomplish in a period and now this? Next, how will we make sure all the important things are learned, like vocabulary and FORMULAS for the CRCT! And lastly, what will happen if kids are afforded all this freedom and power over their own education? Ok enough whining...where's the lemonade already?

Let's see...we can 'engineer' our classrooms not to spiral into chaos when its time for discussion and groupwork. Maybe if we explain our expectations to the kids and be consistent? The whole point is that kids can be taught so why not teach them how to participate in a student centered classroom? This sounds like an uphill battle to me. So you are teaching new tricks...tricks that are even new to you? Kids are very wrapped up in their apathy and there is nothing wrong with comfort. My major concerns are that I won't be able to ask enough questions that the students come up with y=mx+b. And when it comes to test time I'll have pumped them up only for them to fail in the traditional sense of the right answer. I am still not completely confident about this...stay tuned.

To build or not to build...

I had never heard the term constructivism prior to this class. I knew there was 'more than one way to skin a cat' but it had not occurred to me to let students come up with their own methods. This way makes more sense to me though because I can come up with a hundred ways to solve something but there will always be another way maybe your way. I can see how allowing them to struggle cognitively will force them to ask more questions. With these questions, no matter who is answering, they will build understanding. I think the saying 'necessity is the mother of invention' is most relevant here. In the classroom, I would envision students communicating with each other only involving the teacher if absolutely necessary. The sense of accomplishment that would come from gaining understanding their own way would create an empowerment that would translate throughout their classes and experiences. However several issues arise with this new method of teaching. You have to combat student apathy. They've been programmed to wait for you to give them the answers which may make it challenging to have them take responsibility. Also, there has to be assessment that can be quantified. This can prove challenging if the lesson was learned in a non-traditional way. That means the assessment and grading must be non-traditional too, right? This is where its gets fuzzy for me...

Initial Observation

After a single class of EDCI 6540 I have made some assumptions, seen some true colors, and even reiterated why I'm in the program in the first place. Not bad for a first day huh?

The 'radical' ideas of Dr.Matthews make me wonder if I am 'radical'. I thought the way I thought of learning and teaching was just the way it was. Apparently again I am an odd duck of sorts. Some of my classmates believe there are rules that must be followed. The notion of the new math teacher seems like it will be an uphill battle for some. But for me I don't see why it wasn't this way in the first place. I learned math the same way that they did: watch the teacher do it, copy it exactly and mirror it on the test. At the time it didn't matter to me one way or the other as math was a means to my scientific end. The light came on for me as a tutor in a seventh grade classroom my senior year at Ga Tech. The teacher whom I respect as a person was covering pi. He explained that pi was the circumference of a circle over its diameter. A female student who was uninterested in the class and proclaimed along with many others that she hated, a student who I admit didn't seem like a particularly bright star, said 'so its just a ratio?' Oh my GOD, I thought. That's amazing! I had never thought of that and perhaps had never been taught but this unlikely genius dropped this little nugget like a hot potato. The teacher said 'yeh' and continued with his lecture, completely unphased. It made me ill that her spark was not kindled in fact it was snuffed out. Thanks a lot, I thought.

The purpose of education is not regurgitation. We don't just want robots programmed to repeat what we say word for word, do we? Where would Einstein have been? If Galileo were forced to think only inside a box would we now have the scientific method to follow?

If students can only focus on what is being taught then how exactly will the subject matter evolve. Several years ago a student at Paideia private school made a discovery concerning the Pythagorean theorem. Wow! I thought. How amazing. Can that happen in a public, predominately Black, middle class to low class school? It can and it will if the notion of the 'new math teacher' is embraced. Otherwise we'll continue to follow while others lead, just like we are taught.