Unit Planning Assignment

EDCP 342A Unit planning: Rationale and overview for planning a 3 to 4 week unit of work in secondary school mathematics

Your name: Rachel Jeon
School, grade & course: Rockridge Secondary School, grade 10 & Mathemtics 10

Topic of unit: SI measurements, Surface Area and Volume

Preplanning questions:

(1) Why do we teach this unit to secondary school students? Research and talk about the following: Why is this topic included in the curriculum? Why is it important that students learn it? What learning do you hope they will take with them from this? What is intrinsically interesting, useful, beautiful about this topic? (150 words) SI measurement is an important topic because it is useful for changing units as different things have different kinds of measurements in life. Instead of simply using a unit converter, through this topic, students learn techniques to convert between Imperial and SI units by using proportions. This topic assists them in making connections between units and having a better understanding of ratios and proportions in mathematics. Eventually, students will be able to learn more than one way of approaching a problem. Volume & surface are is also an important topic to be included in the curriculum, because it is useful to know when students have to think visually about different 3-D objects to figure out their volume and surface area. For example, when making 3-D geometric shapes or filling a container with liquid, students should know the formula for the area and volume of various 3-D shapes and understand the different measurement units.

(2) What is the history of the mathematics you will be teaching, and how will you introduce this history as part of your unit? Research the history of your topic through resources like Berlinghof & Gouvea’s (2002) Math through the ages: A gentle history for teachers and others  and Joseph’s (2010) Crest of the peacock: Non-european roots of mathematics, or equivalent websites. (100 words) The geometry is about lengths, angles, areas, and volumes of objects. Ideas in geometry first appeared in the ancient Indus Valley and ancient Babylonia from around 3000 BC. As the ancient Egyptions found the area of a circle, they could figure out that the area of the cylinder had to do with the base and the height. Similarly, students can find the relationship between the volumes of water in cylinder and cone or volumes of water in pyramid and prism. Moreover, by measuring the diameter of circular objects, students can identify the relationship between the diameter and the circumference of a circle.

(3) The pedagogy of the unit: How to offer this unit of work in ways that encourage students’ active participation? How to offer multiple entry points to the topic? How to engage students with different kinds of backgrounds and learning preferences? How to engage students’ sense of logic and imagination? How to make connections with other school subjects and other areas of life? (150 words) Since students of different backgrounds are used to different measurements, they should present the measurements, which they are familiar with, to the class. In this case, students will understand the international measuring system of units by country, and this activity will attract some students’ attention and help them engaged with learning measurements. Moreover, in order to enhance student self-efficacy and their learning, students should be encouraged to discuss with partners and present their ideas to the class orally as well as in writing on the board, since they learn more from watching others solving the problem. Especially for ESL students it is a very important part of learning, because they can practice oral skills as much as their writing skills. SI measurements and surface area & volume are useful in science as well when students do the experiments and calculate the density and the volume of geometric objects.

(4) A mathematics project connected to this unit: Plan and describe a student mathematics project that will form part of this unit. Describe the topic, aims, process and timing, and what the students will be asked to produce. (100 words) The topic is the surface area & volume, and it aims to help students familiarize themselves with 3-D objects by creating solid 3-D geometric shapes. They have to create patterns for each 3-D objects and make the actual shapes. Then, students need to find their surface areas & volumes and show their reasoning in their reports with the picture of their objects.This project should last about two weeks, and they should make a project in a group of three people. Through this project, students are able to organize their thoughts about 3-D objects, which are found in real life.

(5) Assessment and evaluation: How will you build a fair and well-rounded assessment and evaluation plan for this unit? Include formative and summative, informal/ observational and more formal assessment modes. (100 words) For formative assessment, I will give students a quiz every three classes. The quiz should include some multiple choice problems and short answer questions, and this is to check for students’ understanding. For summative assessment, students make the unit project and the unit test at the end of the unit of measurement and surface area & volume. For informal/ observational assessment, each group of three walk from station to station, where they make different geomeric shapes with the given 3-D math nets and measure the side lengths to calculate the surface area. They have to write the answers in different units.

  

Elements of your unit plan:

a)  Give a numbered list of the topics of the 10-12 lessons in this unit in the order you would teach them.

Lesson	Topic
1	SI Measuremet: Introducing SI units
2	Imperial Measurement
3	Conversion between SI & Imperial Units
4	-Quiz on Measurement: Using Unit Analysis and proportional reasoning to verify the conversion. -Units of Surface Area
5	Surface Area of Sphere: Orange activity
6	Surface Area of a Pyramid, Prism, Cylinder, Cone: Create 3-D objects
7	-Quiz on Surface Area of 3-D objects - Units of Volume
8	Volume of a Cone, Pyramid, and Sphere: Comparing the volumes of liquid in different 3-D objects (models in plastic)
9	Surface Area and Volume of a Composite Figure
10	Quiz on both Surface Area and Volume of 3-D objects
11	Review Day
12	-Unit Test on Measurement, Surface Area & Volume, -Unit Project due: Reports about surface area & volume of 3-D objects created by students

 b) Write a detailed lesson plan for one of the lessons which will not be in a traditional lecture/ exercise/ homework format.  Be sure to include your pedagogical goals, topic of the lesson, preparation and materials, approximate timings, an account of what the students and teacher will be doing throughout the lesson, and ways that you will assess students’ background knowledge, student learning and the overall effectiveness of the lesson. Please use a template that you find helpful, and that includes all these elements.

  

Lesson Plan
Subject: Mathematics		Lesson #6
Grade: 10		Time: 80 minutes
Topic: Surface Area of a Pyramid, Prism, Cylinder, Cone: Create 3-D objects
Big ideas: Students will understand how to solve problems, using SI and imperial units, that involve the surface area of 3-D objects.
Objectives: 3.2 Determine the surface area of a right cone, right cylinder, right prism, right pyramid or      sphere, using an object or its labelled diagram. 3.4 Determine an unknown dimension of a right cone, right cylinder, right prism, right                   pyramid or sphere, given the object’s surface area and the remaining dimensions. 3.5 Solve a problem that involves surface area, given a diagram of a composite 3-D object.
Content: What students will know	Language Objectives		Curricular Competencies
- (Key vocabulary) Different shapes of 3-D objects. - The total area of the surface of a 3-D object.	- Students will be able to orally describe the properties of 3-D objects (number of each surface, different shapes of each surface, and the area of each surface).		- Students work in pairs in Think/Pair/Share to figure out the total area of the surface of a 3-D object. - Students calculate the unknown dimension of the object, with its surface area and the remaining dimensions given.
Materials/equipment needed: (powerpoint and nets in the “Materials” file in the email) powerpoint, calculators, rulers, nets (3-D models: cylinder, prism, pyramid, cone)
Introduction (10 mins): (10 mins) Introduce real-life examples of 3-D object using power point presentation and make students figure out which one has which shape.
Body (60 mins): (5 mins) Recap: Check for students’ understanding Draw the sphere on the board and let students solve for its surface area in different units. (20 mins) Students in groups move from station to station to figure out the total surface area of the 3-D figures. Using the given 3-D math nets, they have to build 3-D object. Through this process, they will be able to familiarize themselves with the properties of different 3-D objects. Each station has a different net for 3-D model (pyramid, prism, cylinder, cone). (20 mins) As students orally explain how they have got the solution, a teacher goes over the process of calculating the total surface area of each 3-D shape. (15 mins) Students individually write write the answer on their mini-boards. They are asked to calculate the surface area of any 3-D object that I show on the board. Also, they calculate the unknown dimension of the 3-D object with its surface area given.
Closing (10 mins): Students discuss about the real life situation where people have to calculate surface area of the objects.
Assessment Plan: (Infomative assessment at the end of the lesson)                          Students individually write the answer on their mini-boards.
Adaptations: For check-in on learners’ prior knowledge, students can take a short quiz on the surface area of the sphere at the beginning of the lesson. - key vocabulary: diameter, radius, length, width, height, apex, base, face, cone, cylinder, prism, pyramid, sphere Modifications: - Instead of introducing mini-board activity as informative assessment, make students discuss and write down the solution of the 3-D object given in the problem on the big paper. - Instead of letting students in groups move from station to station, give each group of students only one  3-D object to figure out the surface area of the object and present their solution to the class. Extensions: - For homework assignment, students are asked to bring any 3-D object with the calculated surface area of the object. - Students have to create their own 3-D objects and calculate its surface area.

Reflection: John Mason on questioning in math class

Yes, his ideas connect with inquiry-based learning in secondary school mathematics. His ideas are about questioning students in math class. In order to implement inquiry-based learning in the classroom, teachers should engage students in thinking and deal with any unexpected questions. By asking students why and what made them think that, they would be able to develop students’ thinking process. I think that as an educator, it is very important to wonder about students’ learning process and keep thinking critically as part of inquiry-based teaching about how to develop teaching perspectives to help students improve flexible thinking skills. This is because teachers should help them become independent thinkers, who do not depend on their teacher all the time; students should be the ones who question and answer their questions as inquiry-based learning.

For my long practicum, I am planning to incorporate the class activity where students might have to create a new example of the problem I introduce to them. This might help students organize their thinking process and find an alternative approach to the problem. Above all, as a math teacher, I will make sure that I challenge students to engage in learning by thinking creatively and flexibly. 

Reflection on Group Micro-Teaching

             

           After group micro teaching, we were engaged in peer and self evaluation. I believe that it was an effective way to see our strengths and weaknesses objectively. I think that using something tangible (ping pong balls), we were able to incorportate participatory activities into the lesson. By transporting ping pong balls using their hands only, students did the actual experiment and saw what happened as the number of participants increased. They seemed to have fun and be engaged in the activity. For those who might find it hard to analyze data, it could be helpful in organizing processes and their thoughts as they were participating in activities. Moreover, I think that the indication of application worked well since we clearly explained how to read/ interpret the graph and match it to the real-world meaning. Also, closing was good as we recapped our lesson, but it could have been better if we had students tell us what they have learned.

            However, I believe that we did not really check-in on learners’ prior knowledge before we started the lesson. Since some students might not know how to plot a point on a graph, it could have been better if we demonstrated how to plot first two points on the board first and let them do the rest by themselves. Moreover, we did not really introduce any specific form of assessment as the lesson went through. We could have had students discuss more deeply in a group and present their ideas to the class as a way of checking for their understanding. Over all, I realized that thinking is an important part of the learning process, and I would always have to think about how to promote critical thinking in students.

Lesson Plan: Group Micro Teaching

Lesson Plan: Group Micro Teaching
Topic	Data Analysis
Grade level	Grade 9
PLO	- collect, display, and analyse data to solve problems
Materials	20 pingpong balls, 2 boxes, and graphing paper
Opening (1 min)	Overview of the class, recap of last lesson
Body 5 min	Pingpong balls transportation activity ( 6 times )
5 mins	Individual work: Student: Draw a broken-line graph representing the data. Teacher: Circulate
2 - 3 mins	Discussion: Teacher asks questions about the data What is the number of people required to maximize the efficiency? Why does the amount of time increase after __ number of people What conclusions can be made?
Closing 1min	Recap of keypoints: - Collect the data - Draw graphical representation - Analyse the graph

John Mason's Thinking Mathematically: Diagonals of a Rectangle (p.166)

On squared paper, draw a rectangle three squares by five squares, and draw in a diagonal. How many grid squares are touched by the diagonal?

Exit Slip - Dave Hewitt's Math Classroom Video

          What struck me most about Dave Hewitt’s math classroom was how engaged students were in activities. The teacher made a good use of a classroom to get students to understand better and strengthen their visual/ spatial thinking. Also, I realized that I would have to use wait time well during class time. Oftentimes, I found it hard to wait in silence for students to answer questions in class. However, considering the fact that students need time to think and organize their thoughts, I should implement a longer wait time. In addition, by using a bracket to show multiplication or a horizontal line to show division, the teacher could also reduce confusion that students might have made while solving math equations. Therefore, based on what I have seen in the video, I will try to incorporate such teaching strategies/ practices into the classroom in order to develop students’ mathematical/ logical thinking.

Reflection: Dave Hewitt on what is arbitrary and necessary in the math curriculum

        According to Hewitt, being arbitrary means that something has to be memorized to be known and is informed by someone else/ other sources such as TV, books, etc,. However, something that is necessary does not have to be informed by someone else, and it is learned through awareness based on the arbitrary things. For example, mathematical terminology, names, and symbols are arbitrary since students have to accept them the way they are in order to communicate within mathematical community. However, mathematical properties and relations are necessary since they depend on arbitrary things that students have already become aware of.

       This idea might influence how I plan my lessons since I would have to consider how to create/ introduce activities for students to become aware of the necessary things using arbitrary things. Rather than explaining problems based on my awareness to students (“received wisdom”), I would have to introduce appropriate activities for them to find out relations by themselves. In other words, while helping students remember names or symbols that they have memorized before, I should also help them understand relations and properties/rules better and let them know why things work the way they do. This is because students should be the ones who do the math in math class, not a teacher.

Exit Slip: SNAP Math Fair

I realized that there were a wide range of topics presented by students at the Math Fair. Students were asked to choose any artifacts in the museum and create their own problems or revise the problems given to them by their teacher. I think it was a good way for presenters and participants not only to learn cultures and history but also to improve mathematical/ logical reasoning. All students seemed excited about explaining their problem to me and helping me solve their problem. From the participant’s point of view, I could clearly see what was working well and what wasn’t. Most of the math problems were presented on display boards with backstory, hints, and solutions. Moreover, at each station, there was something tangible to help participants understand problems better. Especially when I had to remember the order to find the answer, I found it helpful to have something to write on to keep track of numbers. Over all, I enjoyed participating in problems and realized that Math Fair would be very helpful in boosting student’s self-confidence and their familiarity with numbers and math.

Reflection: The Math Fair Booklet

Yes, I would run a SNAP Math Fair in my practicum high school. I strongly believe that it is a great way to develop students’ creative/ cooperative skills and confidence level by making their own problems and sharing their thoughts with others. While trying out each other’s problems, both presenters and participants will gain self-confidence by explaining how to solve problems and giving suggestions. Moreover, while creating math problems, students also can improve their logical/ mathematical reasoning skills. Since Math Fair is intended to develop problem-solving skills, it allows students to solve challenging problems, which promotes critical thinking. Therefore, I would like to help students overcome math anxiety throughout Math Fair event because it is non-competitive and builds self-confidence, which is the most important factor in learning.

If I can imagine doing so, I would probably have in-house version first in my class, so students have opportunities to look at other’s problems and share their opinions with others. Then, I will ask another math teacher if she can let her students participate the Math Fair my class is holding. After the event for about an hour and half, I will make my students write some pros and cons of their problems they have found during the Math Fair. This is because it makes students reflect on their own math problems and apply a broad range of ideas for creating problems.

Reflection on Battleground Schools: Mathematics Education

Reform movements in mathematics education have constantly emerged over the past 100 years in North America. In the early 1900s, the progressivist views of the mathematics education changed the way mathematics had been taught in class. According to John Dewey, mathematics is more than just getting correct answers. Rather, it is about thinking deeply as part of inquiry learning, which makes students question why they use particular procedures and how they get answers to the  problems. However, the New Math curriculum was introduced in 1960s, but it failed eventually since new math topics were not ideal for K-12 students as many teachers and parents did not understand why new topics including university mathematics were taught. Then, NCTM standards were introduced in 1990s. Indeed, if there is any better way to help students learn better, I believe that new education movement should be developed. As a future math teacher, I understand that I should be a progressivist. Not just delivering math lessons, I should make sure that I motivate students to wonder about learning, which they could link to real life situations. Moreover, I should be able to adjust/ implement instructional strategies/ pedagogy to cope with the new curriculum. Although I have to follow curriculum, instead of having to cover many topics in a given time, it will be better if I can help students understand less materials more in depth. 

Reflection on Microteaching Experience

Through microteaching in class today, I clearly realized my strengths and weaknesses. At first when I made a lesson plan, I was worried I wouldn't be able to finish my presentation on time, because it seemed impossible to me to explain all the important steps/tips of making Kimchi. However, I finished teaching within the time limit, which I believed would be hard, so I was good at managing my time. Since it was hard for me to make Kimchi with actual ingredients in class, I used pictures of ingredients instead. I think that I was able to introduce interesting activities to engage my group members in learning such as filling in the blanks or putting pictures/sentence strips in order. I think that students learn better when they have something visible or tangible that promotes creative thinking. Moreover, I think that I had a good opening that I was able to get the attention of my group members when I got started with pictures of different types of Kimchi, which only two of them could guess.

However, I still need to work more on time management, which I believe would be the hardest when I start my practicum. Although I stayed within my time limit when I was presenting, I spoke fast and couldn’t answer all questions to keep track of my time. Instead of speaking fast, I should have reduced some of the activities I created, so I would have had more time to spend answering the questions. I think that teaching is not just about introducing as many ideas/activities as possible. Rather, it involves helping students become aware of the importance/purpose of the activities they do in class in order to motivate and encourage them to understand better. Also, I think that closing would have been better if I brought new ideas/questions at the end of the activities for students to think about. Over all, I enjoyed learning from others as well as teaching others.

Lesson Plan: Individual Micro Teaching

Lesson Plan: Individual Micro Teaching
Topic	How to make Kimchi
Objectives	Know how to make Kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented cabbage. Understand Kimchi making is not hard. Know roles of fermentation in Kimchi and healthy benefits of Kimchi.
Materials	PowerPoint Presentation Pictures of ingredients (Each bundle for myself & 4 students) Pictures of directions Sentence strips on directions
Opening (1 min)	(1 min) Show photos of different types of Kimchi.             Ask students what photos represent.             Explain healthy benefits of Kimchi.             (Vitamin A, B, C, and Lactobacillus bacteria)
Body (8 min)	(3 min) Show pictures of ingredients.              Explain directions along with pictures of ingredients.
	<Activities>
	(2 min) Fill in the Blanks. (Answer with appropriate pictures of ingredients)
	(1 min) Put the pictures of directions in order.
Assessment	(2 min) Put sentence strips on directions in order.
Closing (1 min)	(1 min) Explain roles of fermentation in Kimchi.

Estimated Volume of the Giant Soup Can

         First, I measured the height of the bike in the photo from the bottom of the wheel to the handlebars. It has a height of about 5.5cm. Then, I measured the diameter of the water tank in the picture. It has a diameter of about 10.5cm. Then, I measured the height of an actual bike that looks the same size. Then, I found that it has a height of about 104cm if I measure it from the bottom of the wheel to the handlebars. Also, I measured the actual Campbells Soup can (540mL) in the refrigerator. It has a height of about 10.5cm and diameter of about 5.5cm.

         Using a ratio, I found the estimated diameter of the water tank.
diameter of the water tank in the photo : height of the bike in the photo = estimated diameter of the water tank : height of the actual bike of a similar size
-> 10.5cm : 5.5cm = x : 104cm -> x = 198.545cm = estimated diameter of the water tank

         Since the tank was in exactly the same proportions as a soup can, I found the estimated height of the water tank using a ratio as follows.
estimated diameter of the water tank : estimated height of the water tank = diameter of the actual soup can : height of the actual soup can
-> 198.545cm : y = 8.5cm : 11.5cm -> y = 268.620cm = estimated height of the water tank

         Therefore, the estimated volume of the water tank = area of the base * height = (estimated radius of the water tank)^2* π*estimated height of the water tank = (198.545/2)^2* π*268.620 = 8316606.156 cm^3 = 8316606.156 mL = 8316.606 L = 8.317 m^3 = 2197 gal

Two Imaginary Letters from My Future Students

Dear Ms. Jeon,

Hi. How have you been doing so far? You always supported me. When I first immigrated to Canada, I felt very frustrated because everything was new to me. However, my favourite class was math subject because you were my teacher. There was one time I couldn’t finish all the exam problems because I couldn’t understand word problems. However, you explained them step by step through drawings, so I was able to understand better and get better grades on my next test. I knew you had extra time with not only me but other students like me who were behind in class. Still, I felt very special. Moreover, I liked how you taught in class because you were loud enough for me to hear even from the back of the class. Also, I really liked your math problems, because I found them beneficial! Indeed, values from the graphs you have shown us in class were very helpful in understanding facts about social issues. Thank you. Bye.

Reflection: I hope to speak clearly and loudly enough so that every student in my class can hear me from anywhere. I believe that as a teacher, it's important to make sure that the messages are clearly delivered to students. In addition, I hope to take extra care of the students struggling with math, so I can prove that mathematics is actually fun, not boring!

Dear Ms. Jeon,

Hi. How have you been these days? Although I was a top student in your math class, I didn’t like math much. Most of the time, you seemed to be in a hurry when you taught us, because you spoke fast. That made me feel like I was in a hurry as well, and I wished that I had more time to finish my activities. Sometimes, you hurt my feelings because you did not seem to treat everyone in the class equally. Even when you asked us to put our hands up to answer your questions, you let other students answer, but not me. I don’t know if you still remember, but there was one time I did not do my homework, and I told you I was sick. However, I could still do my homework, but I didn’t do it, because I just wanted to get your attention. After all, I was able to catch up with the class soon because I realized how much you loved me. Thank you. Bye. 

Reflection: I will always try to treat everyone in my class equally, but I am worried if some high achieving students feel differently, because they might think I help struggling students only or give them less chances to answer in the class. I will always make sure to give all the students in my class equal attention.

Math/Art Learning Project: 60 Playing Card Polyhedron

My group created Deltoidal Hexecontahedron, which is made up of 60 playing cards in total. From this construction, I can explore matematical ideas of symmetry, shapes, and counting. It is very interesting to see that every pentagonal face is symmetrical to the one on the other side. Also, there are different shapes such as pentagons, triangles, and rhombi in this work of art. It has pentagonal and rhomic openings. Since the construction has 12 identical pentagonal faces with pentagonal opening in the middle, it has 12 pentagonal openings in total. Similarly, since 5 rhombic openings overlap each other between 12 pentagonal faces, there are 12*5/2=30 rhombic openings in this 60 card construction.

The hardest part while making this polyhedron is to make 3-fold lock. It is easy to slide the first two cards together. However, it becomes tricky when third card slides into the first two cards. Although these three cards become planar later, they should be bent while being joined. Moreover, it’s important that four slits in each card are cut as accurately as possible, so three cards can be locked together. Other than that, the rest of the process is straightforward and easy to follow.

Throughout math/art project, I started to look around, so I could find any math involved in art. Then, I realized that math is art, and art is math. Nevertheless, many people simply do not notice that many works of art and architecture are made using mathematical principles. Indeed, there are many buildings with different patterns in mathematics. People should carefully examine works of art around them so that they not only see outer visible surface but also think about math and art connections. Indeed, it is always an exciting moment for teachers and students when they start to think mathematically as well as creatively.

A Puzzle from Ancient China (Dishes)

This problem shows Chinese cultures/values and how Chinese people are considerate of others since they share food with one another. Although this is a puzzle from Ancient China, it can be used with other products in other contexts as well. For example, instead of dish of food, it can be something else (clothes, books,...etc) and somewhere else. Therefore, I do not think that its cultural context really matters when introducing mathematical principles/practices to students.

David Stocker's Maththatmatters

Maththatmatters, indeed, recalls my past math textbooks containing pizza, price discount, or circle problems. At that time, my teacher seemed just busy introducing all the topics in math. I only cared about good grades. Later in my real-world, I started to realize that the math problems, which I had learned in my class, were not really meaningful/beneficial. I did not have the opportunity to think about the world while solving math problems, since those problems were hardly designed around real-life application.

However, Maththatmatters introduces interesting activities/problems related to social justice issues aimed at “global awareness and optimism” (p.14). I believe that such method is an effective and creative approach to teaching students, because connecting to math in real life would motivate students not only to learn math skills but also to be aware of social justice issues. Math is not just about getting numerical answers anymore. Math problems should require students to apply their math skills to real-life situations. Eventually, this will lead students to question themselves about the world around them and find math problems very useful in their lives.

I definitely think that these ideas from middle school math can also inspire teaching ideas for my secondary math classes, because they help me think about how I should design/introduce math problems based on real-life. Indeed, students with math anxiety can be motivated to solve math problems related to the social issue of their interest. Nevertheless, it is not easy for me to link some social justice issues and math to deepen students’ understanding of the real world. Yet, I know that the efforts I put into integrating social justice to my math class will pay off someday when students start to wonder about the world to build a better society.

My Most Influential Math Teacher

          I do not remember exactly when I first enjoyed learning math, but the earliest moment I can recall when I realized my math ability is when I was in 3^rd grade. I joined math/science club where I collaborated with my peers to work on the math and science projects. My 3^rd grade teacher inspired me to join the club because she found my math potential and believed that I would love exploring mathematical problems through a variety of inquiry projects. Indeed, I was a top student in mathematics and always had confidence to solve math problems. In my math/science club, I really enjoyed getting engaged with projects by integrating math into science and vice versa. Not only did I learn how to collaborate with others, but I also realized once again that I had special interests in math, which made me have a dream of becoming a math teacher. At this point in my life, although I am not a math teacher yet, I appreciate my 3^rd grade teacher because she supported me and helped me find my ability/interest in math.

          However, I did not like my middle school math teacher. Although she helped me strengthen myself in math problem solving skills through math contest problems, she was boring when she taught math because all she did was write notes on the board during class. Yet, I liked her notes because they were very organized and clear. Even though I understand the purpose of note-taking for learning, I believe that if I had had a fun activity like some kind of math project, my math class with her would have been much more enjoyable and memorable than it was.

Provincial Pro-D Day

I am attending IB-DP Workshop on Oct. 23rd & 24th.

Teaching Perspectives Inventory

From my TPI result above, I found it interesting to see that my apprenticeship perspective scores fall above the upper line labeled ‘Dominant’, and my transmission and nurturing perspective scores are ‘Back-up’ perspectives. Also, my developmental perspective scores fall below the lower line ‘Recessive’.

Above all, I was quite surprised to see that my developmental perspective are recessive. This is an unexpected result, because I try to think creatively and flexibly when I teach students by using a variety of resources for a better understanding. However, I already knew that my social reform perspective scores would be low since I rarely take risks in my learning. Nevertheless, I should teach students how to take and manage good risks by helping them explore the world around them to create a better society.

While my developmental and social reform perspective scores are low, my transmission, apprenticeship, and nurturing perspective scores are high. Of all, I was pleased to see my transmission perspective with high internal consistency. I think that as an educator, the transmission of knowledge and skills should be based, so the teacher can help students acquire knowledge. In addition to transmission, nurturing perspective is vital since the teacher should encourage and guide students to keep them safe. I expected my nurturing perspective scores would be the highest, because I believe as a future teacher, that it is important for the teacher to find students’ potentials/talents and be aware of their different contexts.