Mr. Stanlick: My Advanced Placement Math Trip

I think it is safe to say math has always been a passion of mine. I remember learning to count to 1000 in first grade. When I was finally able to do it without any help, it was like swimming for the first time, eating the ripe tomatoes I grew myself, or putting together a new song on the guitar. The feeling of accomplishment cannot be recreated. As we get older, this feeling becomes more difficult to achieve. This only increases my motivation and determination to learn something new. AP calculus has been a roller coaster of learning. Despite the struggle and rigor, I learned valuable skills that will help me in my future aspirations. Taking the AP Calculus exam gave me a rush of accomplishment. I have built a knowledge base because I am constantly

Rita Pierson has discovered a way to incorporate positive reinforcement without setting her students up to fail. During her speech, she offers personal experience to help support her theory that acknowledging the correct answers over incorrect answer can lead to confidence building in a pupil’s self-esteem and creating a trustful human connection with the student. Rita offers a comfortable and wisdom providing argument wrapped in a presentation that shows passion for how teachers and student relationship should be. Her over all demeanor has the audience listening, learning and engaging as she shares her beliefs with a passionate smile on her face. To top off the speech she adds some comedic relief that encourages the connections with her listeners. The room was set in a lecture classroom like setting with Rita being highlighted. Everyone looking down at Rita as she presents her argument about human connections and positive criticism in today’s classrooms.

Mr. James C. Boyce was the best and furthermost influential teacher, I have ever had. He was my 6th grade teacher at Kawana Elementary School in Santa Rosa California. Mr. Boyce was the kind of teacher that would drive his students to absorb knowledge while making learning enjoyable and exciting. We could earn Kawana Bucks as a reward for doing extra school work in addition; these would be used for purchasing bizarre school supplies such as pencils and erasers with themes printed on them. Mr. Boyce had methods to engage his pupils accordingly they wanted to learn, even if it was through simple objects like a special eraser.

Being a part of AVID means I am able to challenge myself and take AP classes while having the support of my peers. Considering following the path of either becoming a math teacher or accountant, I am taking AP math classes now to gain a better understanding of what I am expected to know and how I feel on the subject. I’ve always being fond of math, AVID has helped realized that I am considering this route.

Imagine you’re in a classroom full of teenagers that don’t want to be there, and are known for being violent and doing illegal activity, and now you’re expected to teach them math. This was the situation of Jaime Escalante. Jaime Escalante took a stand during the 1980s by teaching in a way that helped the students understand that he wanted them to succeed and impacts us today by showing that teacher support can help kids succeed.

I was put into advanced math classes at an early age. In the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade I was put into advanced math classes. I was also placed into honors classes in seventh and eighth grade. Math is a very important subject to me, and I believe that these classes have prepared me for Bergen Academies.

The author explains how many students, especially those in the focused-upon second grade class, have difficulty explaining their “mathematical thinking process”. While they may provide correct answers using memorized calculations, they are unable to demonstrate their conceptual understandings or explain how they achieved the right results. As stated by the researcher, “it is important for students to be able to demonstrate their mathematical thinking as well as their method of solving a problem” (Kostos & Shin, 2010, p.223).

Upon observing your class, we have learned a lot about the methods you utilize in order to help the students with mathematics and about how the students learn. Observing your class was both an honor and a learning opportunity for us, as you are an important, and well-respected faculty member in the school system. However, while we appreciate your goals and tactics to make learning mathematics easier for the students, we have discovered some flaws in the use of mnemonics, rules, and tricks for helping students understand the subject material.

Throughout my high school career, a teacher that has had an impact on my life consists of Michael Sherwin. He is my Advanced Placement Government and Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher. Mr. Sherwin proves to be prominent in my high school career because his lectures in class are always enjoyable and very comprehensive. He is very knowledgeable on the subjects that he teaches and he is able to provide insight on countless topics. As his student, he is the reason that I have taken the initiative to partake in much more difficult classes throughout high school.

The second semester of this course made me question my passion for math. I understood concepts and the curriculum but I would never do well in the practice AP Tests my teacher gave us weekly. The tests would be curved tremendously and the grades I received were a lie. 9/45 does not equal a 70%. I felt true resentment.

This week I was observed during a particularly challenging math lesson. My lesson was elapsed time. My hope was to successfully try Sherry Parish’s, Number Talks method that Sabine Smead at Boulder County School for Integrated Studies, had introduced and modeled for us the week before at Friday Seminar.

In this class observation and interview, it will be conducted with Mr. Fulton which is a math teacher at Governor Morehead School; which is located in Raleigh, NC. Mr Fulton’s class period meets from 2pm to 3:30pm. The Governor Morehead School for the blind which encourages students to strive for the highest levels of educational excellence. Mr. Fulton coming from a general education curriculum to a school defined as special needs is a change, however he expects the best from all his students. Mr Fulton can be reach via school phone number which is: 919-733-6192. I will attempt to show you what I learned when observing Mr. Fulton’s math class. I will let you know a secret, I do not math; especially Algebra.

7. Support Productive struggle in learning mathematics. The teacher did this when the students were working on their own methods of solving the problem. He allowed time for the students to draw out their representations. It never said, in the reading, how much time was given for the students to draw arrays, but based off molly’s representation she had enough time to draw 160 individual boxes. Also, in the reading the teacher goes by and sees that some students have changed their method of solving the problem (Ex. Lines 38 provides evidence of Support Productive struggle in learning mathematics). That would not have happened if there was not enough time to have a productive struggle.

Multiplicative thinking, fractions and decimals are important aspects of mathematics required for a deep conceptual understanding. The following portfolio will discuss the key ideas of each and the strategies to enable positive teaching. It will highlight certain difficulties and misconceptions that children face and discuss resources and activities to help alleviate these. It will also acknowledge the connections between the areas of mathematics and discuss the need for succinct teaching instead of an isolated approach.

In junior High School, things started to turn around for me. Although I was still placed in lower level classes, I developed a love for learning. In the years to come from Junior High to High School, I had a strong urge to make up for lost time. One class I started to excel in was the one I used to have the most trouble with, Mathematics. It seemed as though the once boring and complex equations now seemed meaningful and simple. As I progressed into 8th grade, I was able to advance to normal classes. I felt that the hard work I put in was finally paying of. At this point, I felt that I could handle a higher level. At the end of 8th grade, I took the necessary procedures and tests to try and get into honor - level courses in 9th grade. After taking a summer course of Algebra 1 and several tests I was able to succeed and take the classes. The experience was great. I felt that I was finally going the right direction