Day 3

Day 3 - 24th August 2011

Lesson study

Case study 1 /2:

K2 lesson on more than, less than.

What I learn :

1. When we are comparing, use identical items.

(So that children will focus on comparing more/less and not the properties of the items.)

2. Placing items in a line/ cluster?

(placing items in a line is at an easier level compare to placing items in a cluster.)

3. Use different representation (such as graph chart) to show more / less.

Besides, I also learn that we have to take note of :

-The seating arrangement during activities

-Giving quality instructions

-Asking questions to stimulate thinking

-The design of task to provide differentiated instructions to cater to different needs

-Use of manipulative/ materials

-Sequence of lesson

Case study 3:

Ms Peggy's lesson

Three things i would take away from her lesson:

1. The way to ask questions to stimulate children's thinking.

2. To take note of the different ability of the children and come up with differentiated instructions (using the same activity) to engage all the children.

3. Using of open ended materials.

I love the way Ms Peggy asked questions and using all opportunities as "teachable moment". In addition, I can see that the children were really engaged and learning math through a fun way. I will definitely take note of all these good practices! :)

Fun with 5 unifix cubes - Learning the idea of conservation of number.

This is a great hands-on activity to get children to be creativity and at the same time learn the idea of conservation of number!

Day 2

Day 2 - 23rd August 2011

Take 1 or 2

This activity focuses mainly on counting (1,2). To cater to children with the higher ability, using the same activity, we can challenge them by finding the bad number.

From this, i learnt that activities should always have different levels to challenge children's thinking. It is important as teachers to be able to observe the children in the class and give differentiated instructions to cater to different needs.

Magic Dice

Another 'magical' activity which integrates addition, finding patterns and communicating math ideas!

How Children learn Math

Children learn through the CPA approach (Jerome Bruner)

1. Concrete Experiences

2. Pictorial

3. Abstract

Children will not learn anything by memorizing.

"Using memory to learn is using the HUMAN WEAKNESS to learn."

(That's why we invented paper to jot things down!)

-Dr Yeap Ban Har

Day 1

Day 1 - 22nd August 2011

Which letter is the 99th letter? (BAN HAR)

(I was amazed by the way you integrate math into your self-introduction.)

The first thing that came to my mind was, "oh no! We will have to count all the way to 99!" As i started counting and writing down with my partner, we realized that numbers ending with 9 always end up at letter N. We continue counting to be sure of our prediction. And true enough :) , number 99 ends at letter N! However, this does not seems to work on all words (number of letters make the pattern different.)

It was interesting that the class came up with different methods to solve this problem. Coming up with different solutions really encourages us to think and make connection to the problem. What I learnt from this activity was, for every problem there will be different solutions to it. It doesn't matter which way you do it as long as you can justify it!

Ten Frames

Great way for children to do counting as it provide children with concrete experience and visualization!

For a simple question like: 5+7 = ___

We can use a ten frame to introduce different methods in solving, such as counting all (adding) or counting on (with the knowledge of commutative property of addition).

And in order to do meaningful counting, children first need to learn classification, rote-counting, one-to-one correspondence, and using number(s) to represent the quantity.

Ordinal number - Tells position with respect to space and time.

"Who is third in the race?" - using a picture.

A common error. We can't answer this question because the race is not finished!

This is so true and I didn't really realized until today!!

Magic Poker Cards - Spelling card trick!

Activity like this really motivates me in finding the reason behind it! :)) It makes me reflect upon the way math should be taught. Remembering how learning math can be so much fun would definitely make a change in the way I should start teaching math.

lastly, I believe children will love Math when they begin to see the real 'magic' within!

Reflection: Chapter 1 and 2

Math is a subject i love to hate!

But...

After reading the two chapters, I realize why I hated Math so much - I had never make any connection to what I had learn. I learn by rote, forcing my little brain to remember all the formulas and keep practicing (10 years series) and hope that similar questions will appear during exams.

Chapter 1 has given me a perception on how we as educators should teach math. The 6 principles gave me a clear understanding on what kind of support and environment we should provide for children to enhance learning. Next, the 5 process standards demonstrate the process which children should acquire and apply their mathematical knowledge. It is important that these 5 processes are integrated during learning and teaching so that children can develop mathematical ideas, justify their ideas through logical thinking , connecting and expressing mathematical ideas. I came to realize this is a more meaningful way in learning math as these processes add to a deeper understanding.

Chapter 2 gave me a clear understanding that learning math is not only about drilling. It is about building on from prior knowledge, rich interaction, opportunities for reflective thought, encouraging children to build connections on what they know to what they are learning-multiple approaches, making mistakes, reflect and clear the misconception, scaffolding and acknowledging that every child is unique. To develop a better understanding, educators can use multiple representations (such as manipulatives and models) to support them. It is kind of sad that I don't grow up learning math that way. Realizing the benefits of relational understanding motivates me to seek for more strategies that I can implement to enhance children learning.

Lastly,I hope that more educators will come to understand that learning math is not about drilling, so that children will learn in a meaningful way, acquire the concepts and apply what they learn in real world situations.