My teaching philosophy is driven by the belief that students need to be able to explore and discover in order to gain a deep understanding of mathematical concepts. When a student discovers how to solve an equation themselves it has greater value and meaning to the student rather then if the teacher simply gives the student a formula to compute. I believe that in teaching mathematics through the posing of thoughtful in-depth questions students understand the concepts more in depth and can therefore apply them in problem solving. This form of inquiry based learning is student centered and I believe that the students should always be the focus of lessons. When the teacher focuses on what the students needs are, the teacher can be much more effective in helping the students understand the concepts and this is what I as a teacher believe in.
As a mathematics teacher I believe that students need to "do mathematics." "Doing Mathematics" means generating strategies for solving problems, applying these approaches, seeing if they lead to solutions, and checking to see if your answer makes sense (NCTM). In other words I believe that students need to build off of what they know and think critically in order to make connections to new concepts. I believe that asking "why" and "how" is an effective way for students to form a deep understanding as they explore and discover. |
To read more about my teaching philosophy feel free to read my research paper and to look at my presentation on effective questioning in the math classroom
|