After attending our session with George Couros I began to wonder … what is innovative when it comes to mathematics education? Now before I say anything else, I’d like to say that I do not see myself as a perfect example of an innovative math teacher. However, I do know myself to be a person who is genuinely interested in learning math and learning about teaching math. And as George has said in his book, “[i]f we want to create a culture of innovation, we must first focus on furthering our own learning and growth.” After participating in the workshop, reading parts of George’s book, some online research, and becoming the proud-owner of a Twitter handle (Colleen H2 btw ;)) here are my thoughts thus far … What is innovative when it comes to mathematics education . . .

Embracing an inquiry approach

In other words, students are actively involved in coming up with, investigating, and   solving real-life mathematics problems. In my online travels I came across a great website for inspiration for real-life problems: www.mathalicious.com.

Building upon strengths

As George suggests, we should help students find what they love and create learning experiences which develop their strengths. I think it would be really neat to ask the students where the math is in whatever it is they love. For example, if you love biking, where is the math in biking? If you love YouTube, where is the math in YouTube? I think this could lead to some neat ideas/innovations.

Building connections

Students could connect with experts who use math in their fields and industries and learn from them. I’m excited for our classroom to begin building more connections using Twitter and blogging!

Looking very forward to what George so nicely phrased as this “opportunity to create something better for our students.” Thanks for reading and happy learning everyone!

 

Colleen Heuchert-Hammell

Montrose School

Cluster 1996