One of the greatest pitfalls of Teaching is the need to cover curriculum in order to say that we did it but the problem is, it doesn't always mean the students understand it.
This chart was used to illustrate the skill of subtracting integers, which is a topic many students struggle with. It is one of several strategies and approaches that can be used to ensure that the students understand the concept. Ensuring understanding takes time and I believe all students would benefit from being able to practice, reflect, and try their thinking out in different situations.
I noticed that when the students were doing some review of Order of Operations, many of them struggled at the point where they have to subtract negative numbers. This is an example of what happens when we do not spend the time needed to ensure that key concepts are understood by our learners. With some scaffolding and reminders of various strategies, it is possible for our students to learn but this takes time and patience. The students will be better in the end because they will have understood the concept, hopefully, in a deeper manner with several strategies to draw upon.
I noticed that when the students were doing some review of Order of Operations, many of them struggled at the point where they have to subtract negative numbers. This is an example of what happens when we do not spend the time needed to ensure that key concepts are understood by our learners. With some scaffolding and reminders of various strategies, it is possible for our students to learn but this takes time and patience. The students will be better in the end because they will have understood the concept, hopefully, in a deeper manner with several strategies to draw upon.
No comments:
Post a Comment