Describe how this course has impacted your comfort with, and attitude toward, mathematics in general

The grade band I choose for this discussion is second grade and the mathematics topic I chose is addition.  I choose to write my post on Base Blocks Addition because I feel that students can greatly benefit by using base blocks to solve mathematical problems. These base blocks allow the student to see a visual interpretation of the math they are working on. The can physically add blocks to the ones they already have which is showing them exactly how addition works.  By doing this online they cannot play with “real” blocks but they can do so on the computer which allows them to still get the general idea of addition through blocks. As a teacher I could use this in the classroom to demonstrate the addition process while not spending too many resources purchasing actual blocks. The students would also be able to use these addition blocks at home on their computers which would allow additional practice outside the classroom.

According to the article, Enhancing Mathematical Learning in a Technology-Rich Environment, virtual manipulatives can provide immediate feedback to students in order to allow them to check their understanding throughout the learning process, and therefore prevent misconceptions. In today’s mathematics classrooms technology plays an important role by allowing students to work at home and have access to the accommodations they need in order to solve problems.

Before beginning this course, I was not fully in favor of Common Core State Standards. I believed these standards to be too different than the way I grew up learning and practicing. For that reason, I did not have a very open mind to not only learning these standards for myself, but learning how to teach it to young students. I don’t believe I’m the only teacher-to-be who feels slightly intimidated going into the field, and for me, adding even newer information can take some time to get used to. However, I’m developing a new, broader understanding of the purpose of Common Core State Standards. I’m coming to realize it isn’t all that different than the ways I was taught as an elementary student. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics states a promise to continuously improve standards based on the growing and changing needs of schools, educators, and students throughout. The goal all around is to help students learn concepts in effective ways.

Of the eight standards, one that stands out to me is the very first one which states “Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them”. I think this is important because I so often see students look at a problem and assume an answer or solution without taking the time to break apart the problem and examine exactly what is being asked. The fourth standard, “Model with mathematics” also stood out to me initially. I think it’s important for students to understand these problems as being applicable to daily life.

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Mathematics, which is a study of numbers, is a subject described by many as a hard subject to study though in real sense it can be categorized as one of the easiest subjects among all subjects (Keengwe and Onchwari, 2016). Before taking this course I always thought that, though…………………………………..

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