I am planning to be a mathematics (all grades)
and science (up through middle school) teacher. I greatly love both
subjects and have many ideas for how to teach the subjects in different and
sometimes quirky ways. I grew up loving science fiction and educational
programing; therefore my interest goes beyond the academic. I am well aware of
the stigma that seems to follow mathematics and/or science kids and adults
alike. Often the issue seems to lie in a lack of fun, interest, or value for
the students and adults in question. So my questions to you are as follows: Why do you
like or dislike mathematics and/or science? What could have been done to make
the subject more interesting for you? Are intellectual types the only viable
audience for these two subjects?
Zeth, I find your topic very interesting because I am not a “math geek.” I am in fact, the very opposite. I have never enjoyed mathematics. I recall dreading every math class during my entire educational career. I remember watching a video a couple of years; the video explored how young females may develop negative, psychological attitudes about math at a young age. The negative attitude stems from their earliest experiences with math and was probably developed because they had an educator who was anxious about the subject as well. Here is a short version of the video:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbcnews.com/id/35063736/ns/health-childrens_health/t/girls-math-fears-may-start-female-teachers/
Long story short, I feel that my negative feelings towards math stem from my earliest experiences. I recall my fifth grade teacher, prime time for math development skills; she flew through math and never checked for understanding. I recall being extremely anxious during her math course and it showed in my grades. I dislike math because I rarely ever had a decent math teacher, a teacher who took the time, explained concepts, strategies and algorithms in a clear and concise manner. Many math teachers would explain a math method and would move on. The teacher would not check to make sure that entire class had a clear understanding; the teacher would usually just assume that everyone understood and would move on. Also, for the students who don’t understand, they feel stupid and will not admit that they do not understand what you just were teaching. My suggestions to you, as a future math teacher, do not ask your students to, “raise their hand if they do/don’t understand a concept” this is a falsified assessment. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a math lesson and a teacher will say, “raise your hand if you understand” this is ridiculous; you really think the one student who does not understand is going to not raise their hand? My suggestion is to give a brief end of the class quiz based on your lesson that was taught, so you can see who truly understands and who needs some extra time to internalize the concept.
Math can be so much more fun! I suggest staying away from math worksheets, text books and try to get your students engaged! You can engage your students by having them play new games, create their own games, flash cards and showing how math is used in everyday life. You can also use hands on centers to teach your students about a new math subject. An example of a math center would be to set up a grocery store and teach your students the value of money, shopping, percentages. You can also incorporate art into math during your geometry unit by having students make colorful designs while they identify angles, degree’s ect. Overall be a different math teacher! Don’t be the same run of the mill teacher who does not engage their students! Be creative and change how math is perceived as a negative topic.
Why do you like or dislike mathematics and/or science?
ReplyDeleteTo be perfectly honest, I never did actually dislike math and/or science. Thinking back to my days in high school, I can remember sitting in chemistry class and biology class and hoping that the bell that signified the end of class would never ring because I was so captivated by the subject matter. I chose to pursue a degree in English once I moved to college because writing is what I am most passionate about. Also, even though I had nothing against math and science, I always tended to earn higher grades in English. In today’s competitive world, I felt that it would be wise to further my education in a subject that I excel in.
What could have been done to make the subject more interesting for you?
*Teachers might increase their students’ interest in the sciences by incorporating more hands-on experiments. Science comes alive through experimenting rather than reading about it on a PowerPoint slide or a text book page.
*Teachers might increase their students’ interest in mathematics by educating them about all of the professions in the world that call for an expertise in mathematics. It seems as though a common complaint among struggling math students is “I’m never going to use this!” Teachers should work to change that myth. Perhaps have professionals in a field where mathematics is essential come in and talk to the class.
*Do not voice your assumption to your students, like you just did with us, that “I know most of you hate math and science”. Keep it more positive and do not make them think that you believe you know more about them than you actually do.
Are intellectual types the only viable audience for these two subjects?
I do not know what you mean by this question. What exactly is an “intellectual type”? Based on the words alone, intellectual type would refer to an individual with intellect. By definition, intellect is “the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively”. According to educational researchers and experts, there are several kinds of intelligences that are capable of being possessed, including Visual-Spatial, Bodily-kinesthetic, Musical –Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Linguistic, Logical -Mathematical . Viable, by definition, means “capable of working successfully; feasible”. So, based on this information, I suppose that individuals with intelligence in certain areas that are necessary to the study and appreciation of math and science, such as logical-mathematical skills, would be the only viable audiences for math and science. However, I feel that you should have clarified this question. Some people might have intelligences in the linguistic, intrapersonal, and musicals areas. Therefore, I suppose they are, as you used the term, “intellectual types”, in their own right! However, those people might not be particularly viable audiences for math and science. They are not any less intelligent though.
I have to admit that I was one of those students who disliked math and science (more math than science). I feel that my aversion to those subjects began in middle school and only got worse in high school. From 6th grade onward, I never had a good mathematics and science teacher and I therefore lost interest in those subjects. In math, I found that the teachers rushed though the information and never checked for understanding before proceeding. It honestly felt like every class we were learning something new regardless if everyone understood it. Math builds upon itself and it is essential to make sure students have the foundations before moving on. Also, my teachers did not make the subject interesting. For the entire class period, they would be standing at the board lecturing and I would be copying. I can only focus on problems for so long before my mind starts to wonder. Unfortunately, my science experience was not that different from my math experience. In fact, I cannot remember much about science prior to high school. I feel in elementary and middle school science was pushed aside for other subjects, and I didn’t have many science classes. In high school, I remember science being confusing and once again my teachers proceeded to move on before checking for understanding. Also, I feel that science should be very hands on and in my experience I learned science though textbooks and videos. I believe that I would have enjoyed the subject more and would have understood it if had been more kinesthetic.
ReplyDeleteTeachers have the capability to make these subjects so much fun! I agree with Jennifer and believe that teachers should steer away from worksheets and textbooks and engage their students. In math, my cooperating teacher has her students play games to review content knowledge and they absolutely love it! For example, they had a blast rolling dice and identifying if their number is greater than or less than their partners. It was a fun and inexpensive alternative to writing numbers on the board and stating which one was bigger. Furthermore, I remember in third grade, my teacher had us play multiplication All-Around-the-World. We would make the desks into a circle and he would hold up a multiplication flash card and whoever answered it correctly would move on. I thought it was the coolest thing ever! I was so determined to make it around that I studied my facts every night, and soon enough I did make it around the class. My teacher made math fun and engaging and therefore made me like the subject. The same goes for science. Students should be doing experiments not reading about them in textbooks. They need to do hands on activities to deepen their understandings and make the class more enjoyable. Instead of reading about solubility students can construct their own experiments. I believe science should incorporate discovery learning. Teachers need to be creative and show students that math and science can be fun and exciting and not dull and boring.
I think that a teacher's attitude can greatly affect a student's dislike or like of a subject. I have always struggled with math tremendously. When I look back, I was just never good at math but my dislike of the subject stems from various teachers whose negative attitudes (and sometimes meanness and sarcasm) toward me because I did not understand made me hate math. When I had those teachers who exhibited those qualities, I just shut down and did not want to even try. My negative attitude toward math continued for years and greatly affected me academically. It took me until my sophomore year of high school to figure out what I needed to do to make sure I understood the math content I was being taught. I think my attitude toward math became less hostile in high school and college because I had teachers/professors/tutors who worked with me in finding my learning style and then helped me tirelessly until I understood. Overall, I think it is dangerous for a teacher to have a negative attitude and be mean toward a toward who is struggling academically. In my case, that teacher attitude severely affected my self-confidence, and caused me to struggle academically in several areas because I did not believe in myself, and I began to just not care and it took me years to begin to regain my self-confidence.
ReplyDeleteI think that anyone can learn and love math and science. I think that a major problem has been that these two subjects tend to be taught in a monotonous way with little interaction (especially with science as it is barely even taught in schools anymore). It is vital that sensory experiences, movement, and connections to the real world are a central part of math and science curriculum.
In all honesty, I am not a math or science person. I definitely agree that the teachers’ attitudes toward the subject and how they teach the content influence the students’ opinions of it. In the early grades all the way through high school I had great math teachers who loved math, with the exception of a few. My problem is that I just don’t find math fun. Even though the teachers I had loved math, they mostly assigned textbook pages or worksheets, so I found it boring. I had one math teacher that ventured away from textbook pages and worksheets for assignments and it was the best math class I ever had. She would go above and beyond to make math fun. We did so many different activities and she showed us how it related to our lives. She also had an upbeat and fun personality, which added to the class. Then when I reached high school, it was back to the textbooks. I did well in math, but because I found it boring, I began to dislike it. This became worse as math got harder and more complicated with the different equations. This combined with the fact that the teacher did nothing to make it exciting, ruined math for me. I definitely agree with Jennifer with the fact that you should try to stay away from textbook and worksheets. I am not saying don’t use them because they can be helpful, but do not rely on them. I think that games and activities such as centers, flash cards, etc. help students realize that math can be fun! I wish my teachers in middle school and high school continued to use games to reinforce and teach math skills because then I would have found it more interesting. For example, if you’re teaching probability, have the students all create their own games involving probability and then have a carnival day (or something along those lines) in which each student has his/her own game table. Then have half the class walk around the room playing the games that the other half created and are in charge of, and then switch. This way each student gets to run his/her game as well as play the other games. Also, decorate the room so it really feels like the students are at a carnival. I think activities like this make math fun and shows that it is related to real life and can be used outside of school. I think this type of hands on approach is a great way to get students to like math and science. A quote from the textbook, “The old saying, ‘I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand’ comes to mind” (Ellis, 122). Students learn and understand when they “do,” so definitely try to be creative when teaching math or science by using games, activities, videos, etc. I hope this helps!
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ReplyDeleteThis topic really caught my attention because I was always a struggling student when it came to math and science (more math). I agree with Lindsay above that a teacher’s attitude can certainly affect student’s feelings towards the subject. Starting very young, I always had a difficulty in math; I need that extra time to figure out problems because it just does not come to me that easily. Ever since grammar school, I cannot remember one teacher who's attitude was positive in math class. I remember such things like my 4th grade teacher always eating during her lessons and focusing all my attention on that rather than whatever the lesson was on. I really lost all confidence in myself when my 6th grade teacher would get so frustrated with me told me “you know what, you probably have Dyscalculia “all because I could not answer problems as fast as other students. I never really had a teacher who took time and patience to work with me. They would rush and go over the problems before I was even finished and did not explain how they got the answers. I also think the way some teachers teach these subjects can also make it boring. Worksheets and textbooks can only go so far. There is so much more that is possible to incorporate into these subjects. I love centers, and I know from classroom observations that it is very beneficial and fun to the students. Last semester in 448e for my math lesson I did a multiplication lesson. I created an egg carton multiplication manipulative. I bought about 15 egg cartons, removed the eggs and at the bottom of the egg space I put different numbers; I added 2 marbles in the carton. The point of this was to practice their multiplication facts, so after a little lesson I handed out two different eggs cartons to each table and they took turns shaking it. Whatever numbers their marble landed on is the two numbers they write down then multiply. The students loved this! Not only was it fun but they were also practicing their multiplication. The teacher also loved it and kept the cartons and uses them to this day in her centers. Ideas like these are what students need to be excited about math class not dreading it like I was every single day.
ReplyDeleteI am not a math person, but I have always liked science. I have always liked science because it is something my dad has always liked. Throughout the years, some of my favorite teachers have been my science teachers. They never made learning boring and tried to incorporate an experiment or field trip of some kind into every lesson or topic we learned about. I think of the best things my favorite science teacher did was that he made it personal. He made it so we to a heavily dense topic that we otherwise would not have understood. When we become teachers, not all of our students are going to like a subject we teach. What we have to realize is that if we are not creative teachers, we can't foster a love for that subject in our students.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking from personal experience, In my freshman year of high school, math usually gave me really bad anxiety (to the point that I would get sick and have to miss class). I think the major thing about math was understanding it in class, but when I got home and looked at the homework, it would be confusing and everything I thought I learned in class went out the window. This would also happen when I took tests. I copied notes down and my saving grace was that my teachers would give me partial credit and/or extra credit opportunities. I think I would have enjoyed math more if it was broken down more and at a slower pace (I took honors level geometry, algebra II, and pre-calc). Another helpful approach was doing projects. Usually they would let the students have a choice as to what type of scenario they would like to use for their project or the project would be based on a possible real life scenario (i.e. tiling a kitchen, laying concrete around a pool), so that made it interesting. As far as science goes, I definitely loved biology and found that the most interesting. Perhaps if students saw the real life applications of science, they would be more interested in it (as opposed to the mind set of "when am I ever going to use this after school?"). I think that teachers need to use creative ways to help students understand what they're learning. If students are bored, they won't learn.
ReplyDeleteIn my math class we are discussing this same topic. I loved math until I reached the 10th grade and has to take geometry. Up until that time, I completely understood math because the problems were concrete. Once geometry came into my life, I was lost. I could not envision the shapes, I could not remember the formulas. From that point on, I began to dislike math. As I got older, I realized that I am a visual learner when it comes to math, I can not see the shapes within a shape as other people can.
ReplyDeleteI have never disliked science, but I have never had a fun science class. Teachers always made it seem like it was a lot of information that we had to memorize, not things that could be learned easily through projects and fun.
Math was always one of my favorite subjects when I was younger, before they started adding letters of course. I liked math because there was a definite answer, and it was something I could work on and eventually find the conclusion. My favorite thing was learning multi-step word problems, because it came easy to me. The subject of math has become a nuisance to many children, partially because math lacks interesting aspects. Teachers should strive to incorporate hands on activities to make math more interesting. Something as simple as putting a student’s name in a word problem will spark their interest, and keep them focused on the task at hand.
ReplyDeleteTo be 100% honest I am not strong in either subject. I am able to complete simple math when there is a concrete answer to be solved. In other words, word problems in math are my downfall. I don't seem to be able to comprehend the question being posed when it is written as a word problem. I think this has to do with the fact that my elementary math teacher taught us math facts using memorization rather than manipulative or illustrations to depict what the problem may look like in real life. For example, I learned multiplication by writing each multiplication "Table" ten times each for homework. A better way to teach this skill would be to use illustrations of multiplications or tactile things around the classroom to model and demonstrate what multiplication actually looks like. In my opinion, science can be pretty interesting at times. On the other hand, I loath formulas and chemistry and pretty much anything that incorporates math into science. I like that in science experiments can be conducted and observations can be made. I also think using the scientific method is both interesting and practical. Given the right teaching techniques, I think that both subjects can be made fun given the correct approach is implemented.
ReplyDeleteI remember sitting in my fifth grade classroom and being scared out of my mind that the teacher would call on me. Math isn't as scary as it has to be ! Instead of showing students a problem once and expecting them to understand how you got the answer why not use games and activities to make it more memorable to comprehend. In today's day and age, there are so many different methods to doing a certain problem. One way may not work as well for another student and that's okay. I like e idea of introducing educational games into Math. I makes the students excited and not as nervous.
ReplyDeleteChristina Calvitto
Mathematics is an iffy topic to me. I think I am strong in math--as long as I have the right teacher. I remember in freshman year of high school when I took Algebra I, I got a C in the class and struggled so much (in fact, my parents actually had to conference with the teacher which was a first).... but then I took Algebra II in my junior year and I got an A in the class... when we learned a lot of the Algebra I topics in the beginning of junior year, it seemed to be a breeze for me.... it was because of the teacher. If I have a terrible teacher for math, I will never understand any concepts. All I need is the right instruction and it comes easy to me. I was even going to subject concentrate in math during my years at Caldwell, but I switched to social studies since I was afraid I was going to receive poor instruction which would have made me struggle in the subject.
ReplyDeleteI can't really put my finger on why I don't like science.... science just never came easy to me.
To make the subject more interesting for both science and math, I think real-life examples should be used in explaining concepts. In science, I think it should be very hands-on for the children rather than lecture.
I don't think math and science are only meant for intellectual types. It all depends on the student.
Speaking as an honest and concerned student about math and science, I can tell you I absolutely hate math. Science, not so much.
ReplyDeleteMath was a subject that was very difficult for me to understand. It was never fun for me. I attended a Catholic school, where the system of education was not as important as our faith and religious practices, and because of that, I suffered greatly in finding Math useful and fun. The biggest issue was that the teachers were not understanding on different learning abilities. I struggled in math often because I did not understand it. I was the type of student who needed a lot of time to learn things, and I was a visual learner. If problems and solutions were modeled more in the classroom, I would have probably been more efficient in math.
I never had a geometry class in my high school classes, which is probably why I also struggle so much in geometry as well.
Math was not a subject in my school that was taught in a fun way. I would literally come into class as a young student in the sixth grade, and be terrified of sitting there listening to a lesson I knew nothing about. What I would have love to see or experience in math is fun projects. Like I stated before, I am a a visual learner. I rpocess things so much better by seeing and being able to model or present how it should be done. That was never done in any of my math lessons in school.
Science on the other hand is a subject I did not really hate. It consisted of much more do it yourself projects, and it sparked a lot of interest in me. It started to become more difficult when equations and scientific theories were introduced. That led less time for actual hands on practices for me to comprehend.
I think the best way to introduce math and science so that students will not go through what many of us are going through now is to invite real life examples into the lessons. Make each lesson a fun, interesting lesson that students will be able to go home and say "I learned something fun in math today!", or "That science project taught me something new!". As a teacher, you should be able to incorporate all types of subjects in math or science lessons, maybe some type of literature can spark a math lesson, or maybe you can turn a confusing science term into a fun rap son for young children. Whatever the case may be, an educator should be certain on the one most important things when teaching a lesson: that the primary goal is to have your students walk away with a higher level of understanding.
I actually did not dislike math growing up. When I reached sixth grade my school received a new math teacher. He was also the girls’ basketball coach, which I participated in throughout middle school. He exhibited many of the characteristics that we have been learning about when speaking of effective teachers. He established and was consistent with his rules and regulations, he got to know each one of his students personally, and even connected math topics to real life events. He made learning math fun. He never rushed the topics or got frustrated when students just could not get it. In high school math became a bit more difficult, but I did not mind because I liked the challenge. My teacher was not as fun as in middle school, but every teacher has a different style of teaching. All of the students succeeded in both situations. In middle school, science was not the most interesting subject. I had a great science teacher in sixth and seventh grade. In eighth grade there was an issue with our science teacher so we had many different substitutes throughout the year. We did not learn too much during this time. However, in high school I had three great science teachers. These teachers conducted class in a way that combined both of the math teachers I described. Science is my favorite and best subject so it is easy for me to like learning about the topics involved.
ReplyDeleteI have come across many great teachers as a student in school, and even through my college observations. One of the things teachers need to bring into the classrooms more is real-life examples. Teachers should incorporate many different subjects into their lesson. For example, writing, reading, and even math should be incorporated into a science lesson. Students should be able to take responsibility for their learning. The teacher should be the facilitator of learning not the dispenser of information. Also, especially in science, hands-on activities are a great way to learn. This includes labs and other mini activities. There are so many different technological options for teachers to use in their lessons, which should be used to spark students' interests.
With so many different options for both teachers and students, every student is considered a good audience for these two subjects. It would help if the students wanted to participated more in the lessons because a teacher can only do so much, but different technologies and knowledge of new teachers seem to definitely help the issues. The ultimate goal of all teachers is to help the students learn new information and to help them find new ways to gain information.