Blog #7

Fiore, G. (1999). Math-abused students: are we prepared to teach them?. The Mathematics Teacher, 92(5), 403-406.

This article was written for the purpose of trying to show teachers that they need to know and understand the limits that all of their students have in their abilities with math. The author, Fiore, recounts an experience teaching a college math class. He tells about a couple students that struggled in his class. After talking to them, he found out that they had been "math-abused", meaning that their previous math courses have hurt them either emotionally, mentally, or both. In one of the cases, it was the teacher that caused so much abuse to the student. Fiore emphasizes our need to understand the students and to be careful not to "abuse" any of our students.

I agree with the author and think that it is critical for us not to "abuse" our students. Like the students in Fiore's math class, teachers can hurt the students they teach. It can be as simple as calling on students that you know are struggling and don't know the answer, or making fun of a student in class. It is the people that teach from the beginning that cause someone to like or dislike a subject, depending on how that person's experience turns out. A suggestion, given in the article to help understand the students, was to ask each student to write a paper talking about their previous encounters with math. This way the teacher knows where each students is coming from and can carefully plan lessons around the needs in the class. This can help the students learn more efficiently. Lastly, the students deserve an environment that they feel comfortable learning in. Teachers owe it to their students to make their classroom a place of welcome, not hostility. Math is a subject to be understood and enjoyed, not dreaded.

Blog #6

Gilbert, M. J., & Coomes, J. (2010). What Mathematics do high school teachers need to know?. Mathematics Teacher, 103(6), 418.

In this article,the authors puts a teacher's knowledge into two categories: knowledge of mathematics content and knowledge of pedagogy (teaching). The authors talk about the need for teachers to use their knowledge about the content and pedagogy to sufficiently to teach the students, and they stress the importance of teachers adapting their knowledge to the way their students learn. They also need to be able to interpret their students solutions and adjust the content and teaching style to assist the students. An example of this was given with a teacher that asked a group of 6th graders to complete a problem dealing with ratios. After looking at the student's results, the teacher noticed that most of the students didn't fully understand their task and got the question wrong. The teacher then noted that she needed to change the content for the students that next week and that she also needed to teach this concept differently. By being willing to adapt our knowledge to the current situation, will help us more accurately help the students we will teach.

I agree that teachers need to change, or adapt, their knowledge for their students. When teachers change their knowledge of pedagogy, they are sometimes able to help their students learn better. When students get more of an understanding of math it may improve their confidence in being able to do math. Changing the way the teachers teach is not the only thing. Teachers can change their knowledge of the content. By doing this, they can more change the way the content is explained. This change may help students apply the content outside of class and in the real world. It can also give students a greater appreciation for math because of the way was learned. Teachers need to able to adapt their knowledge at all times for their students. When they do this, they become better teachers.