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Relevance of motivation in education
Relevance of motivation in education
Relevance of motivation in education
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“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” - - Carl Jung - - It seems like only yesterday--I was a high school student majoring in English with plans someday to become, of all things, a teacher. I attended a small high school--there were only 140 students in my graduating class--so we were blessed with the same teacher for several consecutive years. It was not until I found myself in college a few years later that I learned how truly blessed I had been in math. Mr. John Ramon of County High School was a great math teacher. As I think back to Mr. Ramon's classroom, I was a good student, but certainly not his best. Mr. Ramon was so good at motivating and encouraging his students, he always had dozens of students that excelled in his classes. These were the students who set the curves and took the top honors. I just worked very hard, trying to keep up. The thing I remember most was homework! Mr. Ramon believed in lots and lots of homework. I must have spent every night of my four years of high school doing math homework. "Practice, practice, practice, . . ." "Math is not a spectator sport!" However, there was something about Mr. Ramon's explanations that made math easy to understand. Not only that, but his classes were fun. He was lively at the board, cracking corny jokes and telling silly stories. But make no mistake about it, when it came to learning math, for Mr. Ramon, it was serious business. He set high standards for his students, and we met his high standards to the best of our abilities. Most importantly, however, Mr. Ramon was our friend. He always celebrated and shared our success in his classes. It was not until a few years later, as a student in calculus, that I realized how much math I had learned from his classes.
Cable’s kindergarten class in a short time period. Mrs. Cable had an intriguing lesson; she did many things well and was willing to answer any questions I had. I was also able to relate this math lesson to First Year Seminar through her philosophy, professionalism and positive attitude. I believe all of these are important qualities a strong teacher should
“Class,” I announced, “today I will teach you a simpler method to find the greatest common factor and the least common multiple of a set of numbers.” In fifth grade, my teacher asked if anyone had any other methods to find the greatest common factor of two numbers. I volunteered, and soon the entire class, and teacher, was using my method to solve problems. Teaching my class as a fifth grader inspired me to teach others how important math and science is. These days, I enjoy helping my friends with their math homework, knowing that I am helping them understand the concept and improve their grades.
I particularly enjoyed the YouTube Videos with Khan Academy to learn different mathematical concepts. Because Math did not come easily like other subjects, I would repeatedly replay videos after videos until I started a library with all my videos in one place. Between Mrs. Goggins’ after school tutorials, long nights of studying, the use of Khan Academy and other YouTube videos, I made up for my loss in first semester Algebra by successfully completing second semester Ninth Grade Algebra with a
Throughout his early school career, his parents would often push him to better his education. He would often receive books and encylopedias from his parents so that he could further expand his knowledge. During his final high school year his parents arranged for him to take advanced mathematics courses at a community college that was local to them.
“Class,” I announced, “today I will teach you a simpler method to find the greatest common factor and the least common multiple of a set of numbers.” In fifth grade, my teacher asked if anyone had any other methods to find the greatest common factor of two numbers. I volunteered, and soon the entire class, and teacher, was using my method to solve problems. Teaching my class as a fifth grader inspired me to teach others how important math and science is. These days, I enjoy helping my friends with their math homework, knowing that I am helping them understand the concept and improve their grades.
We meet the teachers who will give us the instruments to join the orchestra of the world. We love them, admire them, respect them, and above all, learn from them. Forever into our future, we will tell stories and reminisce of the memorable teachers and classrooms that taught us so diligently. They teach us the information to decode life, and be able to support ourselves. We excel in the subjects we love, and take this excellence into our future careers.
My Math Teacher, Mrs. Ladd. When thinking back and remembering all of the teachers that I have had in the past, there is one in particular that comes to mind. Her name was Mrs. Ladd. She taught math at the junior high school.
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
Along these two weeks we have been prompt to make a recall to our own way of learning and why we became a teacher: Was it because coincidence, due to life circumstances, maybe because family tradition, was it a conscious decision or because someone influenced us? Whatever the answer is, we have to face reality and be conscious that being a teacher does not only means to teach a lesson and asses students learning. It requires playing the different roles a teacher must perform whenever is needed and required by our learners, identify our pupils needs and preferences, respecting their integrity and individuality but influencing and motivating them to improve themselves and become independent.
In the end I visited his old school to speak to some of his former teachers in the hope they could provide me with an amusing story to tell. The first person I got hold of was his math’s teacher of five years.
For some reason or another certain students are drawn to particular teachers while other students are more fond of others. In my life I have studied under three memorable teachers. Teachers with which I was able to connect, to laugh, to share my misgivings. While I may have been close with each of these teachers, it is very clear, in retrospect, that each was very unique, and represented an entirely different class of teacher.
"Amy, you are really getting great at memorizing you times tables," said Mrs. Field, my first grade math teacher, "here is your sticker, and I will put a star next to your name for finishing the 3's times table!" I loved receiving my stickers and I especially loved getting a star next to my name. These small acts made me feel so special, that I had really done something great. This is how I remember my teachers from kindergarten until the fourth grade. Every teacher I had was encouraging, loving, and supportive of each student that they taught. If one student fell behind, the teacher made extra sure to teach and re-teach the subject until it was understood. Once I entered the fifth grade and into middle and high school, each teacher that I had tried to be encouraging, loving, and supportive of their students; however, my teachers often had too many students to give the individual attention that so many children need. When I began to fall behind in certain subjects, my teachers tried to help but were often unable to teach and re-teach, because they had no choice but to continue on with their lesson plans. I continued to fall further and further behind; therefore, I had to spend many hours after school working on my homework problems with my parents. Up until the fifth grade, I attended private school with about 15-20 students in my class; from the fifth grade on, I attended public school with about 30-35 students in each of my classes. This high number of students in my public school classrooms had a negative effect on my learning experiences.
Throughout out this semester, I’ve had the opportunity to gain a better understanding when it comes to teaching Mathematics in the classroom. During the course of this semester, EDEL 440 has showed my classmates and myself the appropriate ways mathematics can be taught in an elementary classroom and how the students in the classroom may retrieve the information. During my years of school, mathematics has been my favorite subject. Over the years, math has challenged me on so many different levels. Having the opportunity to see the appropriate ways math should be taught in an Elementary classroom has giving me a
When I was growing up, I remember attending elementary school, learning a new language seems to be difficult at first, but I was able to learn the English language because of the dedication of one of my teachers. Now, as I reflect on this experience, it is obvious that she was dedicated and enjoyed teaching her students to be successful. I know today that she made a difference in my life as I navigated through my education experience and high school years to present.
...d a better understanding of differentiation, I have had several of my students tell me that I am the best math teacher they have ever had. They express their happiness by telling me that I teach math in a way they understand. They state, “You do not stand in front of the classroom and explain how to do the problem, give us homework, and move on to the next topic”. I take pride in this. I try very hard to help each of my students understand the necessary standards so when they leave my room, they are able to take a real-world problem and find solutions to them.