Field Blog: Week 3

During my third visit, the first class I observed was a Calculus class. I was glad to be able to observe this class because I am in calculus right now so it was fun to know what they were learning. I was even able to help the girls with a worksheet they were working on in class. They were working on related rate problems which is one topic that I really enjoy in calculus. Knowing how excited I got to simply help them with a few problems on a worksheet, confirmed that I wanted to teach math. The second half of the class period, they were reviewing for their test the next day. They could work on practice problems independently or in groups, they could also ask the teacher questions they had. They were allowed to use a 3x5 notecard on the test the next day with equations and whatever they wanted on it to help them on the test. I liked this in high school when I had harder test in more difficult classes so I really liked that this teacher acknowledged that this was a more difficult class and that sometimes a notecard was necessary for the girls to use on the test. The second class I observed that day was again the Statistics/Pre-Calculus course. They were learning trig identities, another topic that I find very interesting. The teacher had them do problems and then some could come up and write them on the board. They then went over the problems as a class so those who didn’t know how to do them originally would know how to do them. I have always enjoyed when the teacher allowed us to write on the board and do other interactive things to help keep the learning environment energized as opposed to just sitting and taking notes at a desk. This visit has probably been my favorite so far because I realized that being excited about the material I plan on teaching, the better a teacher I will be able to be.