August 10th, 2008
I began this journey into the unknown when I completed a graduate course at MUN this past summer on the topic of teaching math through problem solving. I, being very interested in math education ever since I became a teacher, decided to do a focus in mathematics education for my Master’s program. Being a student and now a teacher of math, I have always seen students struggle with math, more so than any other subject. Not having this challenge as a student, I always wondered as a teacher, what I could do to help these struggling children. It became apparent to me, very early on in my teaching career, that teaching students in the ‘traditional’ way, the way I was taught, was not working. I made it my mission to find a more successful way where ALL students could find success and become true mathematical thinkers. It is here, at the end of this course, that I believe I have found a part of the solution; teaching math through problem solving, through an inquiry based approach. It is through this type of learning that the teacher takes a back seat in the actual teaching of math which allows the student to take a more active role in their learning by discovering their own methods and finding their own paths to understanding mathematical concepts. As I begin this journey of discovery myself, being the actual facilitator of this approach, I will, no doubt, come across stumbling blocks and rough roads. It will be here, that true learning will take place. So, here I go.
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