Mathematics is a tool that is used in everyday life. Teaching students to understand the concepts of math, can sometimes be a difficult task, especially if the student has a disability. I think that we as educators need to use the assessment tools that are available to us but also we need to continue to dig to find those assessments and activities that make the students learn from practice. Learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide is not all there is to math, and teachers have a tough job sometimes when it comes to incorporating classroom activities for all of their students, not all of them are on the same level. This is hard when it comes to teaching word problems because word problems are things that the student should have already learned. I think that assessment activities are a great idea, it makes the child demonstrate what they have learned in a way that we as educators can see. We can see if there may be a problem somewhere along the way, which would be a good way for us to help the student build on those skills needed. Practice after practice is a great way for students to learn. For example, one student may learn better from using manipulatives while another student may learn better by watching their peers demonstrate the concept. Whatever it may be, all children learn differently.
Chapter 13 Effective Practice
There are so many ways that an educator can incorporate learning into any lesson. If the activities are strong and fun, students do not even realize that they are learning, they think that they are playing a fun game. What is most important, is what they pull away from the activity. And when you incorporate the game aspect into learning, it allows those that may be struggling to "catch up" in areas that others are not. Hands on practice lends to be one of the most effective strategies for teachers, especially if they have well thought out plans and an abundance of materials that go with them. This may also help struggling learners develop those more concrete concepts that are hard to learn.
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I think you are spot on about creating lessons that are fun and capture the students' interest. It will make kids more willing to pay attention and participate. I also think that these sorts of lessons in game form especially would make it easier to include a wider range of students.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, there is so much more to math than just adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. These are just the very basic math skills a student needs to learn. They are just the building blocks of math. I think teaching word problems is such a difficult skill for teachers to teach. If your student has a disability in math or reading, a word problem will be extremely difficult.
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