Math Reflection

Through observing math in my placement so far, I have discovered a lot about teaching math. One thing that has really stuck with me during this placement is learning about the CGI method and seeing how it relates to what happens with math in my placement. The math that my mentor teacher gives to the students does not follow the CGI method and does not give students the freedom to solve the problems multiple ways.  This often poses a problem for students, since they aren't given counters or other items to use and are just expected to understand how to "count up," for example. Not given the chance to explore or given the materials or opportunities to do math in different ways, if a student doesn't understand how to do the problem the way they are expected, they are marked down as not understanding. I find this to be frustrating because a lot of the students could potentially understand what they are learning much better, if they were given the chance to learn and solve in different ways.  Through this experience, one thing as a math teacher that I will definitely make a part of my teaching, is utilizing the CGI method.  I want to give students the opportunity to explore math and to understand what they are learning in whatever way that makes sense to them. In my own classroom, I want to provide students with many different types of experiences in math, and let them be the ones who get to learn their own way. I think that just having students memorize how to add numbers can really hurt them in both the present and the long run. I want instead, to use high level tasks that are meaningful and that give students math tasks that are authentic and worthwhile.