For my spiral of inquiry, I am wanting to look into how math can be learned more effectively when doing hands-on assignments and activities.
Math has always been a subject that many students have struggled in or don’t look forward to doing as concepts can be difficult and “boring” to learn. I have noticed this not only in my students in my practicum, but also my classmates when talking about math. I remember when I went to school, math was usually something that many students dreaded doing including myself. Knowing that this is how many students view math, I believe it is important for us as teachers to create an engaging and enjoyable learning environment when it comes to teaching math. I believe as teachers we can do this by incorporating hands-on activities. Throughout my practicums, I have noticed that students really enjoy math games and activities that are hands-on and interactive. Allowing students to collaborate with one another while working on math concepts is also important to promote community and student led learning. This will also have the ability to reach students with diverse learning styles and students who need support in these areas.
An activity that was done in math during my 4 week practicum was counting steps for measurement for grade 2/3. Students were able to estimate their measurement of how far a distance was between objects in the class and outside. This allowed students to get movement in during school hours and also allowed them to go outside. Students were doing this individually but also had the opportunity to collaborate and compare their answers with one another. Doing this activity was fun and engaging and students really enjoyed the physical aspect of this activity.
Another activity that I led in my 10 week practicum was setting up stations for a review in measurement for grade 6/7. Students had four stations with review activities for their unit on measurement. Students had 10 minutes at each station and were working collaboratively to solve their activity or play interactive educational games with each other. Students benefited from this as they were able to move around the room and switch tasks in a timely manner, while also refreshing their minds on the concepts learned in their unit on measurement.
Incorporating hands-on activities for math is important so students can start to get out of the mindset that math is intimidating. Focusing on collaborative and engaging activities will help this mindset and will have the opportunity to reach a diverse set of learning styles and needs.