Throughout my time in the Education Program at the University of British Columbia (UBC), I have been mulling over a variety of questions about teaching methods. Of those questions, the one that is closest to my heart is, “how can I make mathematics more meaningful and less stressful.” The following is an excerpt from my Inquiry Proposal that explains why this topic is so important to me.
“During my early childhood years, I absolutely loved learning about mathematics. My mother’s father used to spend hours playing games with me and taught me how to calculate basic mathematical equations by incorporating real life examples into our studies. As I grew older and moved into my middle years, I no longer possessed that same enjoyment or drive to learn the subject. In fact, I wanted to be as far away from the subject as possible as I could no longer see the significance of learning it. Looking back, I wish my teachers would have catered their teaching to my learning style and explained to me the relevance of math in my life at that time.
Over time, through experience, I have come to realize that many students struggle with mathematics. Some of them try their best in class but are always falling behind their peers because they have difficulty trying to comprehend the concepts and eventually, many of them start to believe that they cannot do math. I do not want history to repeat itself. I want better for my students. I want to bring meaning into their lives. Some of my previous students have told me that they do not know why they have to learn this subject when they may or may not need it at some point in their future. This worries me because they are going through the same issues that I went through. I want to learn different ways of making math more meaningful and less stressful for students. I hope that students will learn to see the importance of math in their present lives and in their future.
Mathematics is an integral part of our everyday lives. This proposal will address ways that math can be made more experiential for students, techniques for connecting students who have anxiety with this subject, and methods that can be taught to students to help them develop self-monitoring skills when they find math challenging.”
Thank you for visiting my website. The following link is a mind map that relates to the beginning states of my Inquiry Project. Please feel free to leave any comments, feedback or questions that you have for me so that we can learn from each other. Thank you.