My Math Autobiography

  • Reflecting back to when I was in Primary/Elementary school, I remember mathematics being very engaging and my teachers were always creative and full of excitement when it came to teaching mathematics. I learned mathematics by watching the teacher demonstrate in front of the classroom on the chalk board and would practice the skill many times to make sure that all students develop a understanding of what was being taught and what was expected of students to perform. It was important to pay attention to the teacher because students needed to apply their understanding and skills to solve a range of problem solving questions. Interaction with other students was also important,as well as working independently. Math textbooks were always used as a great resource for guiding students' learning. 

  • My best memory surrounding mathematics in my primary and elementary years is that most of my teachers who taught me in this subject were always very helpful to me when I could not solve a problem on my own or had a question if I did not understand anything. Most of my teachers who taught me mathematics during my k-6 years in school got my interest in wanting to do good in the subject. However, I had a bad experience with one teacher for two years in elementary school who just expected students to know everything about mathematics and any question was asked was not explain clearly of what to do. The teacher simply did not show any passion of why they enjoyed teaching mathematics. Now as an adult, I am going to be teaching mathematics to young children from kindergarten to grade six and I will teach my students about the subject and make sure that they have a understanding of what is expected of them to do. I will assist any student who requires extra help, offer tutorials and basically help my students learn about mathematics and that it can be fun.

  • I always enjoyed mathematics and learning about the subject and I would always study for it and practice solving work problems but I was never the best at math. I always struggled a little with mathematics even to this day. I try my best with learning about it and I will teach it to my students as a future educator but it has never been my favorite subject in school.

  • When I was in primary/elementary school, assessment was usually presented in assigning students homework by providing them with worksheets or giving students tests on what they have learned which usually consisted of story problems(elementary school). Also, it was very common in both primary and elementary school to assign in class work and assign students into small groups to solve problems or complete an activity by using counters for addition or subtraction or money pieces to solve how much each piece represented for example. Assessment focuses on what students know and what they are able to do. Assessment is about the collective impact that a program has on a student's learning and can be performed in many ways.

  • When I reached high school, mathematics became more of a challenge to me as I found it to be more complicated and I struggled with learning and absorbing the material more than what I did in primary, elementary, and junior high school. I did academic mathematics in high school and although I passed and got both good and average grades, it was never my best performing subject. As much as I tried to like it, I never could. I went to tutorials, and would always try my best at completing the work but I always felt that I wanted to do better. My high school mathematics teachers also influenced me to do well except in grade twelve when the teacher I had gave me low confidence in myself. However, after completing high school and moving on to university I knew that if I wanted to become a teacher I needed to do mathematics no matter how much I did not like it. In university I completed two mathematics courses that are required to complete before applying for the faculty of education. The courses were Math 1050 and Math 1051. I found Math 1051 to be a more of interest to me than Math 1050 and I think that was just because of what was covered, how it was taught, and what it consisted of. I pushed myself to do good as I became determined to do it as I did not want it to interfere in stopping me from becoming a primary/elementary school teacher.             

  • Today, I feel that although mathematics is still not my best performing subject, I want to learn more about it and really try my best at performing and demonstrating mathematics. Knowing that I am going to be teaching this subject to young children, I want to be able to show them that I am passionate about my career as a teacher and I want them to learn in the best way possible about mathematics. I want my students to know that although mathematics can sometimes be difficult, it could also be fun. When you put your mind to anything, you can do it! Through this course I am hoping to build confidence in myself about doing mathematics as I will do my best and do well.