Pre-Philosophy of Education Statement

Creating a safe environment is crucial for student learning in any setting, especially in math. Many students lack the confidence necessary to become a knowledgeable math student. When I was younger I almost never spoke up when I was struggling in my math classes because I was consistently scared of what my peers would say about my misunderstandings. To this day that fear has still affected me and has caused me to struggle going to professors when I get stuck. I don’t want my future students to have to live their lives with a fear of being wrong in mathematics so it is important that my classroom always be a safe place for their ideas to be released. Along with that, I also want to show my students that there are always many ways to solve a problem. This will encourage them to never give up, even if they seem to be going down a different path than me or their peers. If they feel safe to express their ideas then they will not have to fear being different as a mathematics student.

To ensure student understanding I will check where students stand on the material prior to teaching it and after it has been taught to monitor the progress of students. This helps not only them to see what they’ve learned but also for you to see what they’ve learned. If they are able to see that they are progressing they will begin to feel more confident in their own mathematical abilities. It is also crucial to watch the way in which they complete the math which they are learning. Monitoring their thought process to ensure that it is logical and methodical is important in any subject, but in math it is extremely easy to fall into a pit which you can’t climb out of.

When learning mathematics technology offers students another method to receive the material from. It can be used as a manipulative for students who need to play with math in order to understand it. For example, when teaching students about concepts within graphical geometry I would use software such as Geogebra so that students are able to work specifically with the shapes which we are learning about. It also offers students another resource when the way which you teach does not match their learning style. They can use websites such as Khan Academy to help fully develop their comprehension of the topic at hand. There are millions of sources available for students to use and one of them is bound to match their learning style and help them excel as every teacher hopes they will.

Balancing the use of pedagogy, content, and technology is crucial to making your classroom a safe and positive learning environment for students. To do this I will make sure that when technology is used it enhances each students understanding of the content. By creating a safe environment students are able to feel comfortable sharing their struggles with the content and thus are able to receive the help which they require to grow their knowledge.