One of my most memorable math teachers is Ms. Lui (Grade 9). She is memorable because, being a young teacher, she had an immense desire to make math interesting. Not only were outlines for each unit given to us (assigned homework, due dates, tests, quizzes) but there were also optional questions worth bonus marks that were challenging and were incentive to do extra work.
The other memorable math teacher is Mrs. Wong (Grade 11). Most of her teaching style was focused on lecturing (as is the case with almost all math teachers and who can blame them--it's math!) but she also let everyone teach the class one topic in the geometry section. This gave us an opportunity to ensure we were confident with a specific concept, enough so that we could explain and teach the class. One way for someone to know that they "know" is by teaching.
My other math teachers were also amazing people, but these two stuck out in my mind. Their approaches to engaging the students in the learning process are examples of some of the methods that I want to inherit as a future math educator. Reflecting on the teaching styles of these two math educators, I realize that I can draw on their methods and integrate them into my own style. The use of a good outline can help the students keep on-task and give them goals. Bonus questions are good ways to encourage students to challenge their knowledge. Having students teach and present a certain topic helps the students cement their knowledge on the subject. My goal as an educator is to integrate all the positive math experiences that I have had with the suggested methods that I am learning in my classes.
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