The explorations of mathematical concepts which I have undertaken through this unit have been very rewarding for me as a future maths teacher. I have enjoyed the first-hand experience of being challenged to think mathematically, and use everyday language to explain and justify the reasoning I use to reach a solution. I also found this extremely helpful for me as a teacher as my aim is to stimulate children to engage their natural curiosity and use it to explore and develop systematic understandings of mathematical concepts (Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers and Early Childhood Australia, 2006).
In the future, I wish to engage in more professional development opportunities so that my own love of mathematics learning will not come to a close. Furthermore according to Cockburn (2008), on-going professional development is also important and valuable as it informs teaching practitioners to develop and improve teaching practices that are informed by empirical research. Many of the readings which I have accessed in order to inform my blog-posts have really taught me a lot of valuable things about mathematics teaching. I am more thankful than ever for the researchers who dedicate their careers to conducting good quality research to inform and improve teaching practices. Sadly, according to Cockburn (2008) the amount of educational research being applied to professional practice is still very limited. Perhaps it is because much of the teaching style recommended by research requires more time and effort than traditional approaches. For example, teaching mathematics without resorting to text-books and worksheets takes a lot more time and effort, both in the preparation stages and reflection stages of teaching and learning. However, it is so much more worthwhile.
Throughout this unit my ideas about mathematics learning have grown and I have realised that although quality resources do play a role in facilitating mathematical understandings, there are other factors which are even more critical when it comes to developing children’s understanding of mathematics. These include: how the resource is used, the sequence of mathematical concepts being taught/learnt, the teaching style adopted by the teacher (which determines the type of relationships that exist between the teacher and child, and between children and their peers), the identification of the connections that exist between different mathematical concepts, and the teachers’ ability to mathematise, recognise mathematising and identify common misconceptions. As early mathematical development and its benefit for future learning is so well documented through research (Godfrey, 2006), I believe it is of critical importance for teachers to adopt approaches that encourage children to see themselves as mathematicians and to develop a love for learning mathematics that stretches beyond getting the right answer. This has become an important part of mathematics learning for me as I have grown to change my perceptions about mathematics as being straight forward and unambiguous. This is evident as I grew to enjoy mathematical problems where there is more than one solution and more than one strategy can be used to solve it.
Lastly, the value of reflection as a tool for evaluating one’s own learning is an important component of mathematics learning which I have come to appreciate more throughout this unit (Griffiths, 2000). I have found that creating this blog required me to analyse my own learning at a much deeper level than I would have, had I simply participated in the workshops alone. Similarly, the workshops provided me with the stimulus to think more deeply about mathematical concepts. I see now that the two go hand-in-hand. Writing is a way of documenting thoughts tangibly, and I see how having a tangible copy of the process of my learning journey will assist me as a future teacher. In my future as a teacher of mathematics, I hope I will be just as motivated to keep reflecting on my learning.
References:
Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers & Early Childhood Australia. (2006). Position paper on early childhood mathematics. Retrieved 18 Oct, from http://www.aamt.edu.au/content/download/722/19512/file/earlymaths.pdf
Cockburn, A. D. (2008). How can research be used to inform and improve mathematics teaching practice? Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11, 343-347.
Godfrey, R. (2006). Early mathematics development and later achievement: further evidence. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 18(1), 27-46.
Griffiths, V. (2000). The reflective dimension in teacher education. International Journal of Educational Research. 33, 539-555.
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