Reflection on John Mason's Article

John Mason's article on questioning in Mathematics reminds me of what I have recently read in an award winning book "The Mathematical Mindset" that Mathematics is taught in a way that it seems we throw at students the answers to the questions they never asked. This perspective leads into asking why we don't let students ask questions before we begin answering their never-asked questions.

Questioning can be very effective in promoting inquiry-based learning, as it relies on students' explorations, their statements, and their ‘truth’. In inquiry-based learning, questions are genuine not rhetorical which is common in Math classroom, but not so useful in advancing students' learning as suggested by Mason.

I would like to extend the idea of questioning to dialogue, i.e. teaching Math via dialogue. I would love to have my students “talk” Math. Healthy back and forth discussions where the “talk” is based on understanding and exposure rather than facts and figures is a skill worth achieving.

In other words, creating a class atmosphere where learning is not about getting the right answer, but the procedure and the thought process, i.e. encouraging students to share their ideas, thoughts, and understanding without the fear of being wrong. The focus should be on justifying responses and backing them up with understanding rather than certainty, as Mason describes in the article.

The quickest response to incorporating Mason’s ideas into unit planning for the long practicum is asking the self, i.e. asking questions like what might go wrong in implementing a certain idea, how would the students react if presented a certain problem, and how can I make smooth transitions from one topic/activity to the other.

Lastly, ending the lesson in ways that genuinely raises students' curiosity and interest in the topic covered rather than having them answer forceful questions that seem to have no benefit in their eyes. Having them seeing me getting un-stuck when stuck, and allowing them to solve 'their-way' are other ways of having students see the creativity Math has to offer.

Microteaching !! Reflection

Based on self-reflection and the thoughtful feedback and comments we (me and my teammates) have recevied from our collesgues, there is definitely room for improvement in the lesson plan and its delivery. The participatory component of the lesson plan could have been better, as it would have been nice if we had incorporated a more intriguing and engaging “hook” into the lesson. It was a good opportunity to put into practice what we have been learning about student-centerd approach and problem based learning for teaching Mathematics.

However, it was suggested that we should have spent a few minutes solving and explaining the problem we posed via what we call the traditional teacher-centerd classrooom instead of asking the students to solve it. The “perfect” balance between the teacher-centered approach and the student-centered appraoch will become natural with practice and time. I look forward to implementing and improving my lesson plan and teaching procedures based on the feedback I’ve received!