Imaginary Email 1

Dec 15, 2025

Dear Ms. Javed,

Hope you’re as lively and positive as you’ve always been. I’m Aneela Jan from your Math 12, 2023 class. Firstly, I wanted to wish you a very Happy Birthday. I found out it’s your birthday, so thought I’d take the opportunity to wish you and congratulate you for your success as an educator and a Math teacher.

Secondly, I wanted to thank you for being an amazing role model for me and other students. Aside from teaching Math, you taught us how to embrace challenges in life, and how to be positive in the most negative situations. I’ve always been a huge fan of your optimism!

Also, I still remember your risk-taking analogy that you would use to solve a Math problem/puzzle, and I use it on daily basis.

Lastly, you’d be happy to know that I’m currently majoring in Math with the combined Bachelor of Science and Education program at UBC. I choose to become a teacher so I can make a difference in other people’s lives just like you made in mine.

I hope I can come see you sometime if you’re still working at the same school.

Sincerely,

Aneela Jan

RESONSE TO THE EMAIL

Hi Aneela,

Your email made my day. I'm glad to know I was able to make a differene in your life. I wish you success in your current program and all you future endeavours.

Take care,
Iqra Javed

Math/Art Project Reflection

Firstly, it's been a pleasure to be part of the team that I was. We got to know each other a little better and had fun via this project.

Secondly, the task was to create a polyhedra using binder clips. It was challenging to get started as the online resources were limited to basic written instructions without tutorials or videos. One of our team members got started by making a star, then we all made stars. The plan was to make enough stars, so we can combine them into a sphere/ball. However, some of us hesitated to go ahead with the polyhedra for time constrains, and there were no clear instructions/tutorials to be sure.

Regardless, we continued making the stars that were then put together. It got harder to combine the stars as we proceeded. The last star was almost impossible to put in, but one of the dedicated team members decided to embrace the challenge and succeeded.

In terms of assigning this project to Secondary school students, I'd definitely consider exposing them to the union of Math & Art, as it'd allow them to think of Math beyond calculations and numbers. However, I would like to give the freedom to choose based on their interests, as it will psychologically make them feel more involved in their learning.

Chinese Dishes Problem

My first step would be to see what I can do with the given information, i.e.

‘every 2 shared a dish of rice’ = 1 dish/2 guests

‘every 3 shared a dish of broth’ = 1 dish/3 guests

‘every 4 shared a dish of meat’ = 1 dish/4 guests

Furthermore,

dishes/guests = ½ + ⅓ + ¼ = (6+4+3)/12 = 13/12

Lastly, there are 65 dishes in total:

65 dishes * 12 guests/13 dishes = 60 guests

I’m not sure how cultural context wil affect/modify the solution or the problem itself except that we word the problem differently. For exmaple, use ‘bowl/portion/plate’ instead of ‘dish’.  However, the cultural context is one of the improtant components of this problem in terms of interpretration. For instance, sharing and/or serving food may not be a ‘norm’ in some cultures, and it might have different and unique implications. The students belonging to the culture where sharing and serving food in dishes in not normal may find interpreting the problem a bit odd. Nevertheless, this problem could be their exposure to the culture(s) where sharing/seving food in dishes is normal.

Moreover, there can be numerous interpretations of the term ‘dish’. It can be thought of as plate/bowl or a big pot in which food is cooked.

In additon, if the problem is presented as 'Chinese Puzzle' or 'Chinese Dishes Problem', the mind automatically shifts to thinking about culture and its implications on the solution. Some students might also think that the problem needs to be solved in the context of culture.

Pro-D Day Plan

Hello!

I'll be here: https://www.eply.com/BCTESOL2015

EDCP 342A - Commentary on Mathematics for Social Justice

My first reaction after reading the topic “Linking Math and Social Justice” was “I love it”. I felt I finally found something I’ve been wanting to read about. It definitely is a unique and rare combination. The first thing people usually think about Math is numbers or calculations, or that it’s irrelevant to practical life.

Moreover, one of the excerpts from David Stocker reads: “The main aim of education should be to produce competent, caring, loving, and lovable people”. It is probably the first time I’m seeing the words ‘caring, loving, and lovable people’ in the context of Math. It fascinates me to see there are Mathematicians that see connections between human emotions and Math.

Furthermore, his work is admirable, especially the connections he withdraws between Math and practical life. I feel he’s using his expertise, i.e. Mathematics to make a difference via one of the strongest tools - writing. Such writing pieces are rare to found.

Additionally, there definitely are topics in Math that are related to the issues of social justice, we need the lense to integrate them together. For instance, Stocker relates the algebraic equation and violence as follows: “Antonino can figure out his daily paper route salary using an algebraic equation but he can’t use a pattern to show how violence on television and aggression in the world are related.”

Lastly, mathematical thinking is what I call a way to go about life in general. It is the devotion, commitment, and not giving up that allow us to reach a solution while solving a Mathematical problem. The same applies to life holistically.

EDCP 342A - Previous Learning Experiences

Studying Mathematics has always been fascinating for me. However, I wish I could look at Math during my Elementary and Secondary school years the way I look at it now. Furthermore, thinking of test/exam during my high school years, it is still fresh in memory that my friends would lose marks on content-based mistakes that require explanation, but I would lose marks on silly mistakes out of text/exam anxiety and nervousness. This, as a result, affected my confidence in learning Mathematics. However, it is interesting to note that I would enjoy challenging myself with difficult Math problems and loved solving them outside of exam settings. My confidence was renewed during my undergrad when I finally decided to specialize in Mathematics.

As of my best Math teacher, I had him in grade 10 and grade 12/AP Calculus. One of the reasons I liked his class was the way he communicated information/content. He was clear and inspiring. I also wanted to be in his class for Math 11, but had a jolly teacher. It was fun to be in his class, but didn’t learn much. He also had strong bonding with the class in general, but I had trouble understanding him. I would count this as my not-so-good learning experience.

EDCP 342A - TPI Survey Results

Based on the TPI survey results, my dominant perspective with the score of 38 is Nurturing. I found it intriguing. I consider myself a caring person, but never thought this trait/characteristic would dominate my profile/personality. Also, the other four perspectives including Transmission, Apprenticeship, Developmental, and Social Reform are recessive, and I scored about the same in these four perspectives. This doesn't surprise me because I'm usually open to trying and exploring new things. Furthermore, I have always thought there is more than one way to learn/teach/express/communicate. Teaching/learning is multifaceted with numerous dimensions. 

On watching the video about TPI from the website, I found it inspiring that TPI is considered a conversational tool rather than a diagnostic tool. We, as Teacher Candidates, will explore and develop our own philosophy of teaching/learning as we progress in the BEd program. I look forward to seeing how my teaching philosophy establishes and teaching perspectives change over time.