Tucker Ch. 1 & 13

Finally we have made our way into the math realm. I guess I just feel more comfortable reading and learning about math than reading and writing. I was always a math student in high school and am teaching it now, which is why I think this information will be a little more important for me than that reading and writing information, although I know that is SUPER important!
The first thing that struck me in this chapter were the two principles that open the book. Making sure that students learn math with understanding and that assessment should support that learning and understanding. I also enjoyed how the chapter talked about the difference between think-time practice and speed-drill practice, because I often find that students combine all of their work into a "speed-time" practice, in which they fly through it as fast as possible just to get it done and out of the way. The part about this chapter I liked the most dealt with the level of involvement. I think that students just aren't involved enough in math classess which is why they may tune out a lot of what they are learning and develop a bad taste in their mouths about math. Math is a subject that you can do so much with and that needs to be taken advantage of in classrooms. Chapter 13 illustrates why I enjoy these books so much, their practicality. The chapter is filled with activies and ideas for students to practice what they are learning. These ideas can then be adapted to fit all students at any level. These practices I think are key when you go back to the idea of involvement and getting students to be involved in what they are learning.

Well I hope you enjoyed my blog..until next week!

Hakuna Matata
GO 'CUSE