What did I learn that increased my understanding of the kaupapa and pedagogy of the Manaiakalani Mathematics Programme?
It is important to remember that my students have a lot of language and experiences that they bring from their culture – English, Tongan, Spanish, Cambodian, Polish, and Malayalam to name a few in my classroom. All of the students need to learn the maths language, symbols, and texts.
Technology has progressed from initially (in my school days) having the teacher stand in front of the class talking and displaying learning models on the blackboard to progressing to a calculator however we were not allowed to use it to solve maths problems.
Thank goodness both teacher and learners have not only the teacher modelling, instructing, and encouraging discussion and participation there is a huge variety of digital tools to use and enhance learning. Using a range of digital technologies and gives lots of opportunities to bring in the language.
I do need to ensure when using digital tools to make sure I take the time to show the students how to use their devices
I learned that you can go into the special characters (I knew about the special characters) and search maths symbols/fractions/decimals, and write the equation/maths problem in the URL search and it will show you how to do it. That its going to be so much easier and quicker!
Throughout the day I have learned a lot more maths vocabulary, I wish I had such in-depth professional development during my teacher training. I like the table with the new vocabulary that has the definition, explanation, and symbol displayed. I have and will continue to share this at the beginning of a new strand/curriculum area. I have given individual copies of these tables for quick reference to all my learners. Its always beneficial to revisit the importance of the equal symbol, I loved the image of the scales to show the importance of balance of quantities of either side – the operation/problem and the sum are the same =.
The equal sign represents a balance – important to develop early in maths
The equal sign means that the two sides should balance. E.g. 8=5+3.
