Teaching Philosophy
As a math teacher, I aim to create an equitable learning environment. Students will enter my classroom with varying levels of understanding of mathematics and come from a wide variety of personal backgrounds and upbringings, so teaching each student in an appropriate manner is necessary. I hope to build strong relationships with all of my students to gain relational trust. It is a top goal of mine to instill intrinsic motivation in my students so they deepen their knowledge in mathematics because they see an innate beauty in the subject. I also hope to instill extrinsic motivation in my students by helping them see that math is everywhere and an understanding of the subject is vital for student success after high school, which is the ultimate goal of education. Through student engagement in my classroom, I desire to build 21st Century Skills including: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. I envision my mathematics classroom as an environment in which the learning of mathematics is assisted by these 21st Century skills and vice versa. Such an environment will develop the whole student.
Math Journals:
Math Journals will play a key role in the functionality of my classroom. Before class, I will place their journals on their desk for the day. There will be a bell-work prompt on the board every day for the students to answer in their journals. These questions will range anywhere from, "What is one way you used math over the weekend?" to, "What do you need to improve upon the most before our next test?" or even, "What about yesterdays class do you think could be improved?" This will serve as formative assessments and also allows me to assess what is and what is not working in my class.
Math Journals will play a key role in the functionality of my classroom. Before class, I will place their journals on their desk for the day. There will be a bell-work prompt on the board every day for the students to answer in their journals. These questions will range anywhere from, "What is one way you used math over the weekend?" to, "What do you need to improve upon the most before our next test?" or even, "What about yesterdays class do you think could be improved?" This will serve as formative assessments and also allows me to assess what is and what is not working in my class.
Homework:
Homework will serve two main purposes: provide students with opportunities to practice concepts and to present their work with peers during class. Collaborating with their peers will allow for students to work on their communication and collaboration skills, building up their academic language and deepening their knowledge of the content in the process. |
Assessment:
Formative assessment will be conducted daily by floating the room, reviewing students' journal entries, evaluating students' homework, conducting short quizzes every 5-7 days and observing students show their work on the board and during group work. Summative assessments will be conducted through a test at the end of each unit and bi-quarterly exams. |