It struck me, as I was watching 6-year-olds perform words and moves they had memorised to several verses about animals, that memorization was perhaps not all bad. In our quest to embrace a rich, problem-based approach to teaching math, have we thrown out the poverbial baby with the bathwater? In fact, might memorization
Although our project doesn’t officially begin until the fall, we were eager to see how other teachers use an interactive whiteboard with their students. So when a colleague of mine from Tyndale invited us to her school to hang out with her Grade 2 Team for the afternoon, and watch their Prometheus Board in action, we jumped at the opportunity. Happily, I had an excellent student teacher in my classroom at the time, so – with the permission of our principal -- we co-planned a lesson which she would deliver to both our classes, under the supervision of a supportive colleague, while Dale and I headed off to a school in a neighbouring school board for an afternoon of observation and question asking. The rare privilege of watching colleagues teach invites a range of reflective contemplation: One is made aware of things in one’s own practice which one might not normally consider. One’s mind is also opened to new ideas and ways of dong things, not just on the topic under observation (in this case, Math problems being presented and solved on an interactive white board), but also with periphery items (I loved how
Those who know me might wonder how I came to be involved with a project that stipulated an integration of Math and technology, two things I know relatively little about.
A few things came together to help shape our “Smart Bansho” proposal: Firstly, there was this constant awareness of |
AuthorVera C. Teschow is a teacher, vegetarian, student pilot, drummer, and mother of monozygotic twin boys. Archives
June 2013
|