Knowing/Doing vs Understanding

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How many of us have negative lurking beliefs about ourselves from our childhood that still impact us today? This has definitely come up in our Math class this and last year as many of our fellow teacher candidates are self-professed Non-Math people.

The modules this week challenged me to assess whether I've been reverting to a fixed mindset about Math. They also defended the research that shows how beneficial a growth mindset can be to an individual's success. Aaaaand huzzah for neuroplasticity!!! The brain is so flexible and our intelligence isn't in a fixed state. I'm so glad the research supports what so many people have been saying for ever! That practice pays off, you can get better and if you work hard you are unstoppable! Now to transfer that attitude to students and help them on the road to success.

This week in class we discussed the importance of knowing/doing Math vs. understanding Math. I grew up with a rote heavy learning style. I studied Music (scales for hours, and hours, and hours), French, Latin & German (oh sure, I'll conjugate a million things again... and how about some more flashcards?) and Math ... oh the multiplication drills. Yikes.

A Little Princess. [Pinikir Fox]. (2016, November 7). A Little Princess 1995 Classroom Scene [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjWm8dm-k08

I do know that there is value in practicing, drilling and repeating exercises. However, I could not make connections or explain why something worked in Math class and was left to guess or make up an answer if I didn't understand a problem.

This is why the "How Old is the Shepherd?" video resonated with me so strongly. I understand why students would simply guess or try to rationalize why they should have an answer and try to solve the problem instead of saying that it wasn't possible. I have definitely witnessed students use funky strategies in the past that were not needed or not relevant to a question before because they didn't know how to break down the question so it made sense to them.

I really liked what Pat said about challenging students with questions that are difficult and they will probably be unsuccessful with at first because as they learn new strategies and work towards getting the right answers their Brain actually changes and grows! But we still need to give them strategies to really understand how to solve a math problem.  The daily three activity we did as a class helped us think of way to tailor a lesson plan that is inquiry based and collaborative!

I really love new challenges. I'm definitely the type of person who loves to fight complacency and take up a new hobby or activity to continue to grow and change as an individual. I have personally experienced a change in my attitude toward teaching Math and I know have greater self-efficacy about potentially teaching it in the future. Maybe in November even! I just need to continue to have a growth mindset about teaching this subject. It's so easy to be complacent and revert to old strategies that we have found successful in the past instead of embracing new methods of teaching and embracing the unknown while facing all the fear that may come along with it.Now to share with my students the personal successes that I have experienced because I kept trying... not just because I was a natural or "smart."