Math Core Values

Michael DesRochers Mathematics Core Value Reflection “The Connecticut Common Core of Teaching” (CCT) provides the State of Connecticut’s view of an accomplished teacher. It is suppose to encompass the knowledge and skills within a teacher’s repertoire under current research and thinking regarding the mission of schooling and teaching. This last statement struck me as rather ironic, considering the document is almost a decade old. One of the requirements in the CCT is growth among teachers through three stages of development. These stages of development start with the pre-service phase, followed by the induction phase, and end with the continuous professional growth phase. Furthermore, the CCT provides certain foundational skills and philosophies required for all K-12 teachers plus discipline based professional standards for the various public school discipline areas. The mathematics specific section of the CCT focuses on some interesting areas of teaching. The CCT specifically mentions a Learning Environment (Section IV) in which mathematical thinking is the norm. It is intended to create an environment that supports and encourages mathematical reasoning in the classroom and instructs students in alternative approaches to solving problems, constructing mathematical arguments and responding to the mathematical arguments of others. This section of the standards excited me as a potential teacher. I was expecting a standardize test driven, results oriented set of guidelines, especially for a content area like mathematics that is more analytical and less open to interpretation and critical discussion among students. This standard of the CCT is incredibly wide open and supports a student centered pedagogy. A good learning environment is contributed to by a variety of aspects.

First is student motivation. Students need to be engaged and interested in the subject matter, and it is up to the teacher to ensure this. Second, students must both trust and respect their instructors. I plan on letting my students in on some of the personal information from my life to build that bridge of trust. If a teacher is unwilling to give something of themselves to students how we expect a student to do the same? I also feel it necessary to keep up to date on current popular trends, whether it is music, movies or language being used. A teacher needs to connect to students to create a strong learning environment, and I strongly feel an effective method is to show students awareness about things they consider important. This can be accomplished using a variety of techniques including but not limited to the introduction of technology, a move away from traditional lecture centered lessons, using a mixture of pop culture into the classroom, encouraging a large amount of group work, promoting joint learning among the students, using differentiated instruction and taking the time to learn about the students. This is a progressive model of education which encourages student activities which grow out of student interests and experiences, leading to new experiences and interests prompting a continuing cycle of learning (Tozer, Senese & Violas, 2006). I do not feel students are accustomed to exploring the mathematical world. One of the core values is to promote mathematical thinking and reasoning. Typical education consists of formula memorization and learning the specific steps of how to address a problem. This becomes boring, tedious work, and misses the point of mathematics. I hope to be able to focus my teaching on the critical thinking skills associated with mathematics. I want to encourage students to look at a situation and not be afraid to

analyze it from a numerical perspective. Also, logic and rationality are not skills developed enough in classrooms, and mathematics provides the perfect avenue to address these skills in students. I want to relate as much of the subject matter as possible to tangible, real life situations. Too often I hear students say, “Well, I’ll never actually use this in any real world situation,” when in actuality mathematics determines much of the world around us. The more mathematics I have studied, the more I see it at work in the world around me. By making sure to link the lessons in school to tangible, real world situations I hope to impart both the skills to understand the concepts and theories, but also the ability to recognize it in the world around them.