Reuben Hersh’s Talk was ‘beautiful’. I have never thought about math as a philisophical discipline, yet Hersh described it in a way that just made sense. I really liked how he summed it up into one great sentence: The humanistic philosophy brings mathematics down to earth, makes it accessible psychologically, and increases the likelihood that someone can learn it, because it's just one of the things that people do. This is a matter of opinion; there's no data, no tests." As a future teacher, this sentence alone puts a new perspective on how to effectively teach mathematics. His talk helped me sort out some of my confusions and clarify my own personal feelings/experience with mathematics. It helped me to see why I enjoyed problem solving and why I felt inadequate with High School mathematics.
The big ideas about math is that the concepts need to be meaningful and that teaching occurs through social interaction and hands on learning. Students need to be involved and not passive learners. One strategy I liked was where the teacher read the student's body language to measure engagement and altered his delivery accordingly. Also, the idea of the teacher waiting (or shutting-up) to get the students involved was a very effective strategy.
Although Hersh’s Talk caused me to think differently about mathematics he also created more questions for me. I need to know the expected outcomes at each grade level and how can I as a teacher make this meaningful and help the students see how this fits into their lives. I also need to find ways to keep students interested and motivated. More importantly, I belive that I must stay interested and motivated in order to ensure that my students see that mathematics is important but can also be fun.
The big ideas about math is that the concepts need to be meaningful and that teaching occurs through social interaction and hands on learning. Students need to be involved and not passive learners. One strategy I liked was where the teacher read the student's body language to measure engagement and altered his delivery accordingly. Also, the idea of the teacher waiting (or shutting-up) to get the students involved was a very effective strategy.
Although Hersh’s Talk caused me to think differently about mathematics he also created more questions for me. I need to know the expected outcomes at each grade level and how can I as a teacher make this meaningful and help the students see how this fits into their lives. I also need to find ways to keep students interested and motivated. More importantly, I belive that I must stay interested and motivated in order to ensure that my students see that mathematics is important but can also be fun.
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