October 27, 2023
GCU-Dr. Eleweke
ELM: 470
Field Experience D
Due to technology complications and permissions required to record students, I am choosing to observe through watching a pre-recorded video of teaching a math lesson. The video I watched can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq-H6PFsEWg
After watching this video I found that this video was very informative. This video demonstrates and informs teaching math without a textbook. The individual in this video talks about how straying away from the textbook is beneficial for students to learn math with hands-
on experience. Along with watching this video I was able to observe my mentor teach daily math lessons and saw firsthand what it is like not relying on a math textbook for every single detail in the math lesson. Students in today’s world need, and benefit from, more hands-on learning, especially with mathematics. While I agree that textbooks should not be the sole guide for math lessons, I think there should be a textbook or workbook available to provide visual examples and references for students. I personally am an individual who grasps concepts better if I have a visual to guide me through mathematical steps. So, yes we should not rely heavily on a textbook to teach math, but we should make sure there are resources available for students who needs visual reminders for the steps taken in answering problems. Especially in upper elementary classes where math requires more steps and can be more challenging to understand.
