Question: How does incorporating real world math application into my teaching affect my student's overall learning and engagement in class?
Research Based Teaching
I chose this picture to represent ECI 523- teacher as a researcher because I learned the importance of finding creditable research in a sea of not so creditable information. You have to really search, read, and evaluate what's out there to help guide your teaching practices. I had always worried that I wasn't challenging my higher level math students. I decided to research ways to challenge these children. I found that making math relevant and helping them to see a real world connection to what we were learning in class was the key to engagement. I created math journals for each of these students. They worked diligently in them on real world application problems that forced them to think outside of the box and make connections to what they learn outside of the classroom.
I began the notebook with a simple question:
When do you use math outside of our classroom?
One of my highest math students responded:
“Well, when Im bord I go to my room, sit at my dest and do math problms."
Clearly they were having trouble making the connection between math at school and how often we use it in the real world. I worked hard to explain to them that we use math everyday. I decided to have them start recording "math moments" in their journals. Three times a week they told me about a time they used math outside of school.
Here is a "math moment" I got after just a few weeks of using the notebooks:
"I had a reel life math momnt yestrday! Me and my mom were at the soopermrket. She told me to go and get three cans of green beens and three cans of corn. I told her that was six cans! I cant cary that much!"
I believe that by helping my students make these connections and see how we use math in the 21st century they will understand the importance of the subject and use the skills taught outside of school!
I began the notebook with a simple question:
When do you use math outside of our classroom?
One of my highest math students responded:
“Well, when Im bord I go to my room, sit at my dest and do math problms."
Clearly they were having trouble making the connection between math at school and how often we use it in the real world. I worked hard to explain to them that we use math everyday. I decided to have them start recording "math moments" in their journals. Three times a week they told me about a time they used math outside of school.
Here is a "math moment" I got after just a few weeks of using the notebooks:
"I had a reel life math momnt yestrday! Me and my mom were at the soopermrket. She told me to go and get three cans of green beens and three cans of corn. I told her that was six cans! I cant cary that much!"
I believe that by helping my students make these connections and see how we use math in the 21st century they will understand the importance of the subject and use the skills taught outside of school!
