What do I know about teaching? I know that I like math and physics. I know that I find them pristine and beautiful. I know that I think I might be able to transfer the information to students, possibly even well. I know that I am an empathetic and caring person who wants to be where I can enter into a person's experience and help them find wisdom and that that probably makes for a good teacher. I know that I feel like I lack the experience of a teacher that cares about me because perhaps math teachers don't tend to be the caring sort, and I could fill a void there. So, here we go. A sketch of my teaching philosophy.
Invention
and Investigation in Mathematics
Many students associate
math instruction with being taught a trick to finding the right answer to problems.
I was lost in this trick-wielding arithmetic I learned as a child until later
when I understood how to think critically and reason about the structure of
mathematical systems. In fact, as a high-school student, I often came home from
school wondering why the geometry or calculus methods I was learning in school
worked, and I would methodically reason out and prove them to myself. It wasn’t
until I received college-level coursework that I discovered the intriguing
world of logic and abstract ideas behind the arithmetic we use, and it thrilled
me. While I was working with the Educational Program for Gifted Youth at
Stanford University, I discovered that their curriculum introduced students to
logic and reasoning at a much younger age (2nd grade), and I found
that what I suspected was true – the math facts and tricks stuck better with
students when they better understood the basis for their usage. I enjoyed
watching students catch onto the excitement I have for math at a younger age as
well.
Due to my personal
experience in learning and teaching online, I believe students will gain more
from their mathematics instruction with a more investigative approach than the
usual lecture and homework problems. I will rethink the traditional instruction
I’ve received before I pass it on to students in order to ensure that they
learn how to think critically and mathematically about a problem. The key to a
mathematical problem is not the answer but the thinking process that produces
the answer. I must draw on the methods of teachers in other content areas and
then ask myself, “That was a literature course, but how can I apply the same
fervor to mathematics?” “What is it specifically in mathematics that I find
inspiring?” “How do you teach the beauty of abstract reasoning to students?”
“How do I create a deep, investigative learning to motivate their minds?”
A key to teaching
students a new method of understanding mathematics is an open environment, a
place where no question is too stupid to ask; rather, curiosity is encouraged. Students
are too familiar with the fact-regurgitation mathematics in which they are
“right “ or “wrong” which stifles many students’ ingenuity. I see my role as a
teacher to retrain students to explore mathematics and help them hone their
thinking skills and creativity so that they can experience the excitement of
discovery, that fabulous “Eureka!” moment of an epiphany when they feel that
they truly have a handle on the concept as their own. I will attain a
motivating classroom environment by introducing new material with enthusiasm,
encouraging the students to explore the familiar material by asking them diverse
questionds, requiring them to write about their thinking processes as they work
problems, and answering their enquiries by modeling the sort of openness and
investigative spirit I hope to see from them.
I was brought into
teaching because I am myself an incorrigible student, and I would like to help
my students to continue to grow and explore as they mature through adolescence.
I will to exemplify the professionalism (timeliness, respectfulness,
organization and planning, integrity) that students will need to succeed in their
academic, work and personal life. Through my teaching experience, I will remain
open to learning and correction and continue to grow professionally throughout
my career. I want to continue to take courses to remain up-to-date in relevant
topics and discoveries in mathematics and education and to keep myself
exploring and creative in my instructional techniques.
