My fear of Maths and Maths teachers stayed with me even untill today at the age of 59. Whenever I see numbers I just have mental block! I do not want the children under my care to feel the same way as I am. I want them not to be fearful but to have fun when learning maths.
The Maths teachers that I have experienced with when I was young was a nightmare. I was hoping to see a friendly teacher who would accept someone who is slow in Maths who would give opportunities. The day made a difference in my 'Maths life'. The first lesson was such a wonderful experience. The numbers come alive with the name game. We were made to look at
patterns. I did not know that there are rules to it. I learned that every pattern has a rule. A pattern cannot be answered unless there is a term and rules being stated. I am also more aware of the
different uses of numbers.
We were given challenging problems to solve. We were encouraged
to solve the problems in different ways and prompt with questions to look at the problems at different angles. The class shared their thoughts and ways of solving their problems. Every students that gave the answer would give their own method of solving the problem. I also learned from with the others around me to solve the challenging problems. I felt enlightened when I was able to solve the problems.What a learning experience!
I felt guilty when I thought of how I taught Maths to the preschool children. Teaching Maths is not only teaching the children to
count and recognising the
numbers but a lot of consideration have to be put into it. When using concrete materials we have to ensure to use the
same unit and that we can count the things that belong to the
same set.The most important thing that I have learned from the first day session was about the prerequisite to meaningful counting. First, the children should be able to classify, second rote counting, third the appreciation of the last number they utter is the number represent the things in the group and lastly one to one coresspondence. If the children are not able to do Maths I have to find out why and to see whether the children have the prerequisite or prior knowledge to begin new concepts.
It was a great learning experience . I hope to gain more knowledge for the benefit of the children.
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