To perform like a team, act like a team—together

 

The grade is 6 and the subject is Maths, a dreaded subject by many. Hence, I create a classroom where the students feel safe and welcome. “I cringe when I hear teachers say, “I teach math.” No! We do not teach math; we teach math to students! 

Caring about students is far more than just warm and fuzzy sentiment”, (Harris, 2005, p.46). To care is to create a classroom where students improve in self-efficacy. For this I use some strategies, two of which are explained below.

“To perform like a team, act like a team—together”, (Harris, 2005, p.23)

Collaborative work is a norm in my class. Students often get together for tasks. They could be solving a set of problems, research or a project. For example, (Kochar, M) displays an example of students working in groups to do research in Maths.

My reasons for using collaborative work are many:

1.      Students learn from each other.

2.      They learn to work in a team.

3.      It supports inclusion in classroom.

4.      I get a breather as a teacher!

“Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning” (Collaborative Learning: Centre for Teaching Innovation, n.d.).

 “Acknowledge That Students Are Multidimensional”, (Harris, 2005, p.29)

(Levine, n.d.)  brought in the idea of ‘Affinity Leverage’. Bringing in the classrooms several affinities that the students might be having. I take this to heart and combine Maths with as many different subjects or affinities as possible.  I bring poetry, art, music, sports etc to create lessons that respect the multi dimensionality of the students. This is the one thing that has helped me to reduce fear of Maths in the students. A lot of the creative ideas are on my blog (Kochar, M).

I am very aware of the fact that students hate or fear Maths and use these strategies consciously being sensitive to the students. “Sensitive teachers respect students and care as much about how they make students feel as they care about teaching academics” (Harris, 2005, p.49). The feelings of fear are an important acknowledgement and affinity helps curtail them. The result is students are ready to learn the subject and that leads to self-efficacy in the long run.

 References

1.      Collaborative Learning: Center for Teaching Innovation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/engaging-students/collaborative-learning.

2.      Harris, S. (2005). Bravo teacher: Building relationships with actions that value others.

3.      Kochar, M. (2011, October 29). Research in Maths. Retrieved from https://humanemaths.blogspot.com/2011/10/presentations-on-mathematicians.html.

4.      Levine, D. M. (n.d.). All Kinds of Learning. Retrieved from https://childrenofthecode.org/interviews/levine.htm.