Reflection on Session 2

In tonight's lesson, I learned that when planning a math lesson, there are 3 questions that I can ask:

- what is it that I want to the students to learn?

- what if they cannot?

- what if they already know it?

When students are not able to do a task, we have to think about intervention.  However, if they are of a higher ability, we can take the chance to challenge them with differentiated instructions.  For example, in the 'Take 1 or 2' game (drawing sticks) whereby the person with the last 1 or 2 straws on hand is the winner, we can ask the higher ability child to think:  Can   he see any pattern in the observation? What strategy will he use to win?  Would he like to have 15 sticks when it is his turn to pick? 





Is 15 a good number for you?
The winner can have all the bread sticks

When I watched the Holiday Game video, I could see how Dr Yeap facilitated the students in their analysis.  Once the children saw the pattern of the dice game, they could unlock the mystery.  Though it took them quite a while to do it, the supportive teacher and meaningful activity were able to hold the children's interest and helped them persevere.  The interesting task kept me thinking as well.  Never have I known that a dice, having 6 faces that bear dots from 1 to 6, always give a constant sum of 7 when we add the dots of the opposite sides together.  As such, for 2 dice that  are placed together, when the dots on the opposite sides are added to the dots on the interfaces, it will come out with a constant sum of 14.  For example, if the opposite sides of the 2 dice are 1 and 6, the sum of dots on the interfaces can be calculated as follows:  1+?+6=14

Dots on opposite sides	Total sum of dots in the middle
1 and 6	7
3 and 5	6
2 and 5	7
4 and 2	Try workinjg this out
5 and 4	Try working this out
6 and 3	Try working this out

Through this activity, I can help students to look for patterns and  to develop number sense. What an interesting way to teach three 1-digit number addition!

When children learn math, they learn through:

- procedure

- conceptual understanding

- conventional understanding

It is sad that I learned math without conceptual understandinjg with I was young.  The memorizing  of times table had really caused me much frustration and agony.  Teachers are not to teach children machine skills; what is needed is decision making and number sense. Instead of correcting children all the time, we should  let the children learn how to self-correct.  Lessons learned from first hands experience are lessons ingrained for life.  It is important that children possess human competency to survive in this world.  The CPA Approach by Jerome Bruner can be adopted:

Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract

First, children will construct through concrete objects.  Next, they  proceed to the usage of pictorial to represent concrete, and lastly the usage of abstract ideas to make connections and to figure out. 

To sum up, the 5 key concepts that we teach in math program are:

- Generalization (patterns, relationships, connections)

- Visualization

- Communication (language, representation, reasoning, justification)

- Number Sense

- Metacognition (dealing with informatin, knowing weakness and overcome it)

What matters is not what we teach, but how we teach them.  It is essential that teachers provide the opportunities for quality instructions.  We have to remember that math is a vehicle for the development of thinking,  NOT a destination.