Assessment. Volume and Capacity

My thoughts.....

We discussed about assessment. I assumed that we need to assess the subject through paper tests. Another way of assessing is through oral testing. We can provide a math problem to children and ask to verbalize the different ways of solving these problems.

We can teach maths through storytelling too. I have taught children on the concept of ordering three objects according to size. I used the story, Goldilocks and the three bears to teach this concept. The book Goldilocks and the three bears, shows the different sizes of the bowls, chairs, bed and the bears are also in different sizes.

Measurement of the floor at the MRT station.

The measurement of the length of the steps is 14 cm. There were 4 sets of 16 steps. the working is as follows.

16 x 4 x 14 = 896 cm.

The length of a level of the station is about 896 cm.

Time is also a concept which Dr Yeap emphasized that it has no physical quantity. We should teach time regularly.

We created a container for 15 beans. Although small, the container could hold more than 15 beans. The size of the container which contains 15 means was very small.

I always feel that learning should be child initiated and teachers play the role as a facilitator. If children play an active role in their learning, they gain confidence.

Fractions and Geometry

My thoughts

Talking about fractions brought memories on how I learnt the topic. I remember how my math teacher taught me how to overturn a fraction when we divide two fractions. Drawing models also makes comprehension of topics easy.

Geometry was interesting.  I created some shapes with the lines. Some of my classmates made some interesting shapes. One of my fellow friends actually found a pattern between the dots and the area of the figure. I heard Dr Yeap’s instruction wrongly. I thought i could draw any shapes, so I drew a  circle. Then I realised that the lines should be straight and should be connected to the dots.

The homework proved to be interesting too. I derived some ways to create the shapes of a square and triangle.

Addition and Subtraction

My thoughts........

Lesson 14 was very fascinating. The number which I chose was 5 and 8. Dr Yeap instructed us to add the 2 numbers which totals to 13. Then we have to join the 2 numbers together which is 58. Lastly, subtract the 2 numbers together and the difference is 45. I was pretty surprised that Dr Yeap was able find out the difference without knowing my second number. Later of which the class discussed that we can get the difference by multiplying the first number by 9.

We also discussed about the different qualities if a word problem.

Continuous quantities----------can’t be represent them 1 by 1

discreet qualities-----------------can be represent 1 by 1

I also learnt that children should be exposed to different variations of the problem as they provide a challenge to these children. Instead of just sticking on to that problem, children should be given more opportunities to explore the same problem in different variations.  For the example, the numbers of the word problem can be changed.

I also learned that, it’s important to keep the materials for counting as constant, For example, we cannot count pencils and erasers together. It will be confusing for children.

Lesson Study

My thoughts.....

When Ms Peggy asked me about the lesson study, I thought it was in dept study of a math unit. It’s actually a study of a research idea in the classroom. I saw that a team of observers observe the teacher in a classroom. After which, officers have a post lesson conference with the teacher. They suggest ways to improve the lesson.  One of the ways is the classroom management of the teacher. In the first video, the children were seated in rows. Some children were restless and kept moving.  The second video showed a better seating arrangement of which children were seated in a semi circle. Children were more focused during lesson.  Providing each child opportunity to explore the concept for in this case, each child was given paper plates to explore more and less, enables children to understand concepts more.

I have learnt in this session about differentiating during a lesson. In a class, there are different types of learners. Some might be fast learners, some need more assistance during teaching.  Planning should be based on different needs of the children. Teachers can challenge the fast learner by using a bigger two digit numbers and assisting the children with smaller numbers.

I and my groupmates created structure by using cubes. We created 17 different structures.

All about Numbers.

My Thoughts....

Session 2 was all about numbers. When we played the picking up the stick game in the group, I wondered, why I was losing throughout the game? I realised that all this while, I was picking up a bad number. After knowing the pattern of bad numbers , I was able to play the game.

In the lecture, Dr Yeap pointed out that we need to ask these key questions to ourself while planning lessons.

1. What is it,I want them to learn?
2. What if they cannot?
3. What if they already know?

When I reflected upon these questions,I realised that a teacher should plan according to the level of children. Teachers usually plan a general plan for all children. Does a pair of shoes fit all sizes? It varies according to the sizes. Planning lessons are also similar.  Educators should differentiate the lesson according to the different levels of the children. The tasks should be made simpler for the low level child, and more advanced for the high level child.

During lecture, when Dr Yeap talked about the traditional style of divisions, It brought unpleasent memories on my Math experience. I painstakenly memorized the times table and did divisons. When I saw simpler method of division, I was quite impressed by the simple way of divison which is easier for children to comprehend.

I think there is a need to cultivate the idea of self correcting in the classroom. This is will allow children to explore the different methods and aid comprehension. Giving children concrete experiences of counting allows children to build the foundations and help themto prepare for the next level

I believe that Mathematics is all about the different process standards like making connections, looking for patterns, reasoning and problem solving and etc. These process skills prepare children for life.