Numeration Systems – Dr. Toni Sorrell
Although I focus on history for teaching, I genuinely enjoy math and mathematical concepts. I find math is sometimes a brain break to solve some simple problems while not having to remember dates or specific people, just application of a concept.
This class included understanding different concepts in order to be able to teach the concepts correctly, such as the history of math and different kinds of number systems. We learned Roman numeral and even Egyptian numbers, we learned how to do math in different bases besides base-ten, which is the standard base system, and how to understand how students process different math problems. While the class was about solving math problems, it was also learning multiple different ways to solve a math problem to teach students different methods that could each benefit them.
A large concept of Longwood’s education program is differentiation and the Universal Design for Learning, which helps with understanding every student learns differently and we as teachers should accommodate every student’s learning style to benefit their education and increase of knowledge. This is evident in every EDUC class as well as every education topic class.
We would watch different videos on students solving a problem then someone asking them how they solved it, and we would even see different students’ work on a problem then we’d have to solve another problem using every students’ method. It truly helped with understanding math at a much simpler level than through the lens of someone who went as high as college-level calculus in high school then dropped down to basic methods.
When I was in my practicum in a middle school classroom in the fall, it was an eye-opening experience of having to use my brain that’s seen advanced math to help students who were just beginning to learn slightly more complicated concepts such as graphing or inequalities. I struggled going back to simpler math and found myself reverting back to just answer keys or calculators instead of actually trying to put myself to their math level.
I wish I had had this math class before going into that classroom, but I think this class helped me realize the importance of understanding the concept to teach the concept and how to step myself back to simpler math than I’m used to. My end goal is not to be in a math classroom teaching, but it’s something I would like to be able to do at some point in my teaching career, especially after my experience.
My artifact is just a math autobiography my professor had us complete before we started the class. She asked us questions such as what our previous level was, what we wanted to see out of the class, and what math meant to us. I found it while I was organizing files in my computer at the end of the semester, and it warmed me to know I had achieved the goals of what I wanted to see out of the class, as well as how some of my ideas of math had changed after understanding more concepts of math I hadn’t before.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zmp7wf48Q2pqSaCUI1YrlBXviwuMgyu2tiLaVyFw4ZY/edit?usp=sharing