Philosophy of Teaching
As an educator of mathematics I have found myself on many occasions staring into the faces of students filled with fear, anxiety and stress. My job as their instructor is to help them discover feelings of confidence, accomplishment and success. I find being excited and enthusiastic about the material is the first step in accomplishing my goal. Students often see math teachers as scary and unapproachable, where as I try to humanize myself to be more relatable to them. Once a connection is made that helps put the student at ease, there is now a situation more conducive to learning.
My years as a private tutor have given me the opportunity to get to know my students on a deeper level. This environment has been ideal for differentiated instruction, allowing me to individualize my teaching style to better suit each student. However, I have found certain strategies that work for almost all of my students. Such as breaking down the material in non-academic language while still using and enforcing mathematical terms. Also, making a connection to past experiences to learn new material and the most important step, having the student teach the material back to me. Incorporating these strategies has resulted in building the confidence my students need to be more analytical thinkers and problem solvers.
One thing I find that does humanize me to my students is that I don’t always have every concept or formula committed to my immediate memory. I use this as an opportunity to allow the student to help me research the problem. We use textbooks and the internet, showing them the tools that can be used to solve problems when they are on their own. Many textbooks and research on the internet can be difficult to understand due to the academic language being used. I teach my students to pick out key mathematical terms and use the examples that give step-by-step instruction. This allows them not to get caught up in the language.
It is important however, to understand the language that is necessary to follow directions. Students practice problem after problem in a particular section knowing what is expected, but never reading the directions. When it comes time to take the test, many different sections are represented and all mixed together. They read the directions and don’t know what is expected of them. Many students know they cannot leave a radical in the denominator of a fraction, but don’t know it is called rationalizing the denominator. To rectify this and familiarize my students with the necessary language I have them write the directions to the problem each time they start a practice problem. This way they relate the language to the concepts and procedures needed to solve that specific problem.
In addition to understanding the language and gaining the ability to break down problems, it is very important to have the student make connections to the material. Using past experiences and linking them to new concepts is proven to promote learning. When teaching my students long division of polynomials, I first have them do a regular long division problem. I then compare the two concepts simultaneously going through the steps of both problems side by side. This shows the student how similar the steps are and connects the new material to something that is very familiar to them.
After making the connections necessary for learning the new concept, I use another strategy which is having the student teach the material back to me. Teaching a concept gives the student an understanding of the material much deeper than just procedural knowledge. I have found that my experience teaching has given me the ability to understand and learn new material easier. With math curriculums constantly changing and evolving, I have found myself in the position wherein a student will come to me with a problem that I have never seen before. The years of learning how to break material down in order to teach it to someone else has given me the conceptual understanding that allows me to apply acquired mathematical knowledge to new situations. I strive to give my students the same ability to be independent problem solvers.
Students come to me scared, anxious and feeling unintelligent. I want to give them that “AHA” moment so that they leave feeling proud, accomplished and confident. I strive to create a learning environment open to questions and the exploration of ideas. I want my students to feel respected, challenged and that I am genuinely concerned for their success.
My years as a private tutor have given me the opportunity to get to know my students on a deeper level. This environment has been ideal for differentiated instruction, allowing me to individualize my teaching style to better suit each student. However, I have found certain strategies that work for almost all of my students. Such as breaking down the material in non-academic language while still using and enforcing mathematical terms. Also, making a connection to past experiences to learn new material and the most important step, having the student teach the material back to me. Incorporating these strategies has resulted in building the confidence my students need to be more analytical thinkers and problem solvers.
One thing I find that does humanize me to my students is that I don’t always have every concept or formula committed to my immediate memory. I use this as an opportunity to allow the student to help me research the problem. We use textbooks and the internet, showing them the tools that can be used to solve problems when they are on their own. Many textbooks and research on the internet can be difficult to understand due to the academic language being used. I teach my students to pick out key mathematical terms and use the examples that give step-by-step instruction. This allows them not to get caught up in the language.
It is important however, to understand the language that is necessary to follow directions. Students practice problem after problem in a particular section knowing what is expected, but never reading the directions. When it comes time to take the test, many different sections are represented and all mixed together. They read the directions and don’t know what is expected of them. Many students know they cannot leave a radical in the denominator of a fraction, but don’t know it is called rationalizing the denominator. To rectify this and familiarize my students with the necessary language I have them write the directions to the problem each time they start a practice problem. This way they relate the language to the concepts and procedures needed to solve that specific problem.
In addition to understanding the language and gaining the ability to break down problems, it is very important to have the student make connections to the material. Using past experiences and linking them to new concepts is proven to promote learning. When teaching my students long division of polynomials, I first have them do a regular long division problem. I then compare the two concepts simultaneously going through the steps of both problems side by side. This shows the student how similar the steps are and connects the new material to something that is very familiar to them.
After making the connections necessary for learning the new concept, I use another strategy which is having the student teach the material back to me. Teaching a concept gives the student an understanding of the material much deeper than just procedural knowledge. I have found that my experience teaching has given me the ability to understand and learn new material easier. With math curriculums constantly changing and evolving, I have found myself in the position wherein a student will come to me with a problem that I have never seen before. The years of learning how to break material down in order to teach it to someone else has given me the conceptual understanding that allows me to apply acquired mathematical knowledge to new situations. I strive to give my students the same ability to be independent problem solvers.
Students come to me scared, anxious and feeling unintelligent. I want to give them that “AHA” moment so that they leave feeling proud, accomplished and confident. I strive to create a learning environment open to questions and the exploration of ideas. I want my students to feel respected, challenged and that I am genuinely concerned for their success.