Final Project

PAR

act, observe, reflect, revise, I am (interested/ intrigued/ in agreement/ ...) with this aspect of teacher action research: The inquiry principles involved with action research is a step forward in our pedagogy because we critically and collectively analyse our own interests rather than observing and reproducing others. I wonder though if this is beneficial to the diverse learning styles of students I think action research will promote intrinsic motivation because it's self-driven and participatory.

Reference list

Part 5
Dweck, C. S. (2007). Boosting achievement with messages that motivate. Education Canada, 47(2), 6-10.

- Carol Dweck is extremely well know for her work in developmental psychology and research in motivation.

Mueller, C. M., & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 33-52. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.33

- One of the major articles used in the field, cited by 174 articles.

Dweck, C. (2007). The perils and promises of praise.EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP, 65(2), 34-39.

- Takes a stand on both sides of praise, negative and positive effects.

Dweck, C. (2011). The effect of Praise on Mindsets [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTXrV0_3UjY

- Short video of Carol Dweck on the effect that praise has on children's mindsets.

Kohn, A. (2001). Five reasons to stop saying "good job.".Young Children, 56(5), 24-28.

- Takes an aggressive stance against simple praise, Alfie Kohn is a controversial leader in education

Strain, S. P., & Joseph E. G. (2004). A not so good job with "good job": A response to kohn 2001. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 6(1), 55-59. doi: 10.1177/10983007040060010801

- A rebuttal directly aimed at Kohn's article

Hawkins, S. M., & Heflin, L. J. (2011). Increasing secondary teachers’ behavior-specific praise using a video selfmodeling and visual performance feedback intervention. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions,13(2) 97–108.

- Looks at effects of praise on students with emotional or behavioural disorders

Teacher Praise: An Efficient Tool to Motivate Students. Retrieved from http://www.interventioncentral.org/behavioral-interventions/motivation/teacher-praise-efficient-tool-motivate-students

- Website containing specific ways teachers should praise their students

Henderlong, J., & Lepper, M. R. (2002). The effects of praise on children's intrinsic motivation: A review
and synthesis.Psychological Bulletin, 128(5), 774-795. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.774

- Review of numerous major studies done in the field of praise.

Dewar, G. (2008). The effects of praise: What scientific studies reveal about the right way to praise kids.
Retrieved from http://www.parentingscience.com/effects-of-praise.html

- A website created by Gwen Dewar containing information on parenting and child development.  More specifically, I looked at an article on the effects of praise.

Corpus, J. H., & Lepper, M. R. (2007). The effects of person versus performance praise on children's motivation: Gender and age as moderating factors. Educational Psychology,27(4), 487-508. 
- Looks at the differences that age, gender have in the effects of praise

Final Project Positioning of the Researcher

Part 1. Research question(s) and explanation of what you mean by them

As a teacher candidate, the most concerning topic, for me, is student motivation.  It's disappointing, but the reality is that the current status of an average mathematics classroom is one that is not filled with motivation.  With student motivation being such a large, cumbersome topic, my inquiry project will focus on the effects of praising on students.  Praising is the act of using positive statements or gestures towards someone.  Most people have the intentions, upon praising an individual, of motivating, boosting confidence and self-esteem, or trying to reinforce good behaviour.  This paper will inquire into the research behind the effects of teacher-student praise.     

Part 2. Positioning of the researcher(s): What makes this question compelling to you? How does it relate to your life? Any biases or conflicts of interest that should be mentioned at the outset? 

This question is compelling to me because I have been heavily involved with athletics both as a player and as a coach for almost my entire life.  With this background, it has almost become habitual to praise team-mates and athletes with the idea that it will increase motivation, confidence, and have an overall positive effect.  This habit of praising has certainly transferred into my teaching, and initially I thought this wouldn't be a problem.  However, upon reading Alfie Kohn's article, "five reasons to stop saying good job," and having some class discussions on the matter, I realized that praising might not be as beneficial as I thought.  Having been raised and surrounded in praise filled environment, hearing accusations such as "praise can undermine independence, pleasure, and interest," (Kohn 2001) was extremely shocking and sparked an immediate reaction of disbelief.  How can saying something as simple as "good job," have such long term negative effects?  For the past month, with the volleyball team I coach, I have been trying to stay away from praising and instead move towards asking questions or not saying anything at all.  Simply put, we have had our most successful month ever.  Obviously there are numerous factors that attribute to our recent success, nonetheless it's triggered an even further interest in the effects of praising, or rather, not praising.  While I think am still currently in favour of using praise, I am finding more and more research indicating that praise might actually be detrimental.  For this reason, I hope to gain more insight and apply what I have learned from this inquiry project to my long practicum experience.        

As an aside, I also hope to inquire about the differences between praising athletes and students.

Free writing exit slip

The topic I decided to focus on was related to motivational factors, more specifically, the effects of praising on students behaviour/motivation in the mathematics classroom.  My personal motive behind this comes from a coaching background.  It is almost second nature for me to often praise students/athletes because of the beleif that it will boost confidence.  Clearly confidence is of great importance in the student/athlete life so I have always wanted to find a way to boost this.  Praising was in my mind, an effective method for this. However, after doing some research, I have discovered that this may not be the case.  Students can become dependant on praising and only be motivated purely when they know they will receive praise.  Because it is so habitual to me, it will be hard to break this habit of praising students but I am already becoming more aware of when I do so.  Mathematics tends to have a negative stereotype towards it and students are often unmotivated in the discipline.  As an educator I wish to find more effective methods of motivation, praising is one I will begin to study.
I am from Richmond BC, graduated from hugh boyd secondary school as an honoroll student.  Then proceeded to get my bachelors of science with a mathematics major at UBC.

Inquiry Proposal

What is your question and how did it arise?

Student Motivation : More specifically, what are the effects of praising students in terms of motivation?

I was first intrigued by the effects of praising upon reading a couple of articles during first term. 

"Pedagogical Sensitivity and Teachers Practical Knowing-in-Action by Max van Manen &

Five reasons to stop saying "good job!" by Alfie Kohn."

It was interesting to me because praising is something I do quite often when I coach and it is a habit I originally intended on incorporating into my teaching as well.  My reasoning being that praise acts as a motivator, positive feedback, and a boost in confidence.  However, after reading these two articles I am not so sure of the benefits anymore, specifically long term benefits.  I am interested to see further research on praising and motivation in general.

Why is your question significant(to you and/or to others)

I think as teachers we often resort to praising as a method for motivation but we may actually be hindering our students long term success by doing so.  In addition, I think we unconsciously praise students without carefully considering what kind of an effect it will have on our students.  Something as simple as saying "great job" when a student answers a question correctly and have powerful outcomes.  By inquiring into praising we can better understand when its appropriate, how to do it properly, and most importantly, whether it truly motivates students or not.

What do you expect to find out

I expect to find other, more beneficial methods for motivation rather than praising.  I also expect to find a lot a research indicating that praising doesn't necessarily fulfill our desired intentions.  Furthermore, with praising being so habitual for myself, I expect to become more aware of when and why I am doing so.

What resources will you draw on?

"Pedagogical Sensitivity and Teachers Practical Knowing-in-Action by Max van Manen &

Five reasons to stop saying "good job!" by Alfie Kohn."

I will also find other journal articles and hopefully interview some students and teachers. 

Group(Gary, Roz, Cindy, Travis)
From the group comments there was a common theme of how to support and relate to the all different types of students learning(ESL, girls, parent background, non-academic language) and the best way to address diversity.

Classroom management and building relationships with the students without crossing the friend versus teacher barrier

Questions for inquiry project

1.  The use of academic versus non academic language in the classroom?
2.  Technology inquiry - cell-phone usage?
3.  How to support and relate to ESL students dealing with word problems in mathematics?
4.  Addressing all diverse students?

a) List 3 things that you are curious about, wonder about, and/or are unclear about with respect to teaching, learning & schools

- importance of parent involvement and the proper method for parent involvement
- seating plans, groups/rows/circles etc?
- value of re-tests at senior levels
- cell phones in class

b) list 3 things that bother your mind about teaching

- one of the comments I had during my short practicum was to use more academic / formal language, but I have seen numerous teachers use non-academic language and have great success with it as students can relate to it.  Ex( using "guys" to address the whole class)
- at senior levels, should we have a similar teaching style/grading scheme as a university professor?
- dealing with girls

c) Describe one thing that offers a challenge to you as you enter your new profession

Motivational tactics for disruptive/non-engaged/troubled students?
ESL students (more specifically dealing with word problems in mathematics)

Drama in the classroom

Exit Slip (Oct 18th)

Drama has always been outside of my comfort zone, so incorporating it into lessons seems challenging and a bit daunting to me.  However, after engaging in the drama activity during class my I realize the importance of having a multi-modal and interdisciplinary approach to the way we teach.  Also, I think a lot of students will appreciate drama in the classroom because it strays away from the "standard" lecture and it lends itself better to different types of learners.  In particular, I really enjoyed the freeze aspect of the activity.  As teachers we have to make instinctual decisions on the spot, rarely do you get the chance to freeze, have discussion, and re-simulate decisions that we have to make.  It was also helpful because we had the chance to look at it from all points of view(third person, first person as a teacher, first person as a student etc), this reinforced the idea that we have to be able to see the situation from all views and not jump to false conclusions.  We could have just as easily talked about these specific scenarios, but using the drama activity was more engaging and realistic.  While I'm not convinced drama is the be all end all method of teaching, I see the values that it has to offer, it is a great change of pace, and it will provide comfort to those who have drama as their strong suit.

Flip Teaching Entrance Slip

I had the chance to hear and experience flip teaching during one of the school visits to Burnaby South.  This was the first time I had ever heard about it and my initial reaction contained a lot of mixed feelings.  I think I had these mixed feelings just because it was such an extreme change, basically going from one end of the spectrum to the other.  After being exposed to it a bit more my current opinion is all for flip teaching.  There are simply too many benefits with very little cons.  The biggest argument that swayed my opinion was the fact that students can go at their own pace and are able to pause and repeat lectures.  This would have been helpful for me because I remember times when the teacher covered the material way to fast for my ability.  Also I remember times when the teacher was way to slow!  Flip teaching allows for students to get ahead easier as well.  There are of course many other benefits that the TED talk explains pretty clearly so I wont go into detail about those.

I think people against flip teaching would ask or argue as to how you deal with students who don't watch the videos?  Or what do you do if a student has no access to the internet?

For students who don't watch the video you can set them aside with a laptop and get them to watch the video within the first 10-15 mins of class, or you can get the "stronger" students to peer tutor the ones who didn't watch the video.  Of course you would have to lay down some ground rules so that it doesn't happen frequently.

If a student has no access to internet you can put the videos on a usb, dvd, dropbox.  Or set up a buddy system.

Does flip teaching actually work?  It sounds great on paper, but does it translate to a practical setting? I would have to assume so as the stats and numbers are already there to back it up.  But I think only time will tell the efficacy of flip teaching.

With online courses, technology, and schools like the Khan academy becoming more prevalent I think our roles as teachers almost become more of a coach/mentor type role.  Unless we are making the videos ourselves then the "lecture" aspect of teaching still remains, it's just not in the classroom itself.  Basically we would become more of a coach because the students will have already learned the skills or materials, they will already have the knowledge, but now you have to guide, encourage, and aid them in applying these skills.

Also, the game-like implementation in the Khan academy with the mind-map and the point/badge system is clearly a great motivational tool as almost every child or young adult enjoys video games.

It's interesting, exciting, and a little bit scary to think that one day we may have a "global, one world classroom."

Entrance Slip

"It is important that teachers understand the positive as well as the possible negative consequences of praising students. A compliment should be meaningful and should not be granted indiscriminately because, if given too readily and too freely it may lose its significance."

To be a tactful teacher you need to be able to instantly identify the pro's and con's of a given situation or action, and deal with it in a considerate, thoughtful, practical way.  Praising is a common form of positive feedback for students, and I'm sure there is a proper place and time for it, but we need to be aware of some of the negative consequences that can come along with it as well.  I remember in high school I got 97% on my first chemistry test and the teacher stood out in front of the whole class and said congratulations to Mr.McClellan for receiving the top mark in the class.  While it felt good to be recognized, it wasn't necessarily "cool," and other students didn't fare too well with it.  I don't really know how to combat the issue of praise as it seems vital to me that we recognize students who are improving or succeeding, but how can we do so without putting too big of spotlight on them?  My initial thought was to give praise in private but Manen argues that "while a teacher may compliment a student privately, the compliment is more strongly felt when it is conferred in public, in the presence of others."  So I find myself a bit confused as to the tactful approach to this scenario.

"On the one hand, our actions are sedimented into habituations, routines, kinesthetic memories. We do things in response to the rituals of the situation in which we find ourselves. On the other hand, our actions are sensitive to the contingencies, novelties, and expectancies of our world."

 As teachers, we can only prepare ourselves for a limited amount of common situations.  But our world has to many novelties and contingencies to be able to prepare for all situations.  It is in these unexpected, or non-practiced, situations that our tact and practical wisdom take over.  How can we develop our tact when it is something that is so instantaneous and unpredictable?  How can we know what to do in a given situation if we have never experienced it, or been informed of it?  I think general field experience is the only way to develop tact.  You can only do so much in the classroom.

"Beginning teachers often seem to feel the tension or the poor fit between what they learned about teaching and what they discover is required in the practice of teaching."

This quote caught my attention simply because it is directly aimed at beginning teachers, which is what I am.  I am interested to see the major differences between the theory and ideas brought up in our program versus actually implementing them in a practical setting.  I think we are soon going to realize that what we have written down on paper isn't going to translate as nicely as expected.  Within our first 'real' lessons I assume our practical wisdom and tact will be put to the test immediately.  I look forward to my practicum as I think that being in the field is the only way to develop practical wisdom and tact.  

Exit Slip - Performing arts in Math?

I think connecting and incorporating the performing arts into mathematics is a great concept even though it is still hard for me to wrap my head around.  In particular I think it would help a lot of "math phobic" students as it is more engaging and offers a different perspective.  Performing arts can hit kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learners all at once but the challenge for me is how do think outside the box and incorporate this into our math lessons?  Luckily for us there are numerous, applicable resources online!

My group in particular looked at the math bridges website which we found very unique and there was even lesson plans/ways to do their activities in our classrooms!  One example included building a do-deck-ahedron using pieces of cardboard or a deck of cards.  This group project was collaborative, engaging, and had direct applications to geometry.  There was also a template of how to do bring it into our classrooms.  I look forward to using these "non-standard" lessons into my own teaching and can hopefully challenge the negative reputation that math has acquired over the years.      

Taking a look back at my highschool career and now knowing that math can be interdisciplinary and multi-modal, I honestly don't know how I found math interesting at all!

Entrance Slip - A shift from grading to an emphasis of learning

After reading Sarte and Hughs article, one particular idea that stood out for me was stated by Clinkenbeard

"Instead she recommends a move towards an environment in which learning is seen as an end in itself and feelings of competence are found through personal improvement" 

This reminded me of a school visit to Burnaby South where one of the teachers handed out multiplication tables at the beginning of class and they had five minutes to fill in as much as they could.  He didn't put any emphasis on their scores, instead, all he emphasized was whether they were individually improving or not.  If students filled in the entire time table within the five minutes he would challenge them to finish it faster.   Clinkenbeard also says that letter grades produce unwanted competition between students and that we can overcome this through use of comments.  Even though this unwanted competition was something I found highly motivating throughout highschool, this is clearly not the case for every student.  One of the purposes of grades is to provide feedback for the students which is of course a positive thing.  However, I would have to argue/agree with Clinkenbeard that comments provide feedback as well, but in a more specific and beneficial way.  This got me thinking that maybe instead of giving letter grades or percentages we could have some sort of charting system where students could see whether they improved, stayed the same, or worsened as well as providing them with feedback.

Some unintended side effects and one of the main arguments against grading in Sarte and Hughes article was that tests and grading causes high levels of stress in students and we as teachers should try to alleviate this.  While I agree with this, I am sure we have all experienced the stress that comes from a provincial exam or a midterm worth fifty percent of your mark, I would have to argue that a certain amount of stress is healthy.  Also, as students enter the "real world" they will face extremely stressful situations. High school can be a precursor to prepare them for some of these situations they will inevitably face.  As teachers, we need to find a healthy balance of not too much , but not too little.

Also, as secondary educators it is one of our jobs to prepare our students for post secondary education.  To my knowledge, colleges and university are still placing high values on grades.  So how can we give accurate assessments to these colleges and universities without adhering to their own ways of assessing?

As said above, my "student bird" thoughts on grades were positive,  especially in highschool.  I enjoyed the competition it created.  Letter grades let myself, my parents, and my fellow colleagues know where I stood.  My "teacher bird" thoughts on the other hand differ a bit.  I still think grading is necessary just because post secondary education relies so heavily on it, but in terms of actual learning, I don't think it is the best form of assessment.  I think most students would appreciate a verbal or written comment instead of a percentage or letter grade.  So while we are forced to give out percentages and grades because universities require them, we can also give better feedback in the form of comments.  This is something I will try to incorporate in my teaching.

Can I imagine a math or physics class without grades? No, I think it will be way to hard to break the cemented approach of grading and I also think it will be way to hard to motivate students otherwise.  Sarte and Hughes say they accomplished this by giving choice to students about learning topics.  But can we get away with that all the time?  I think our curriculum is to restricted to be able to give students a range of topics they can study out of their own interest?

Also, I have coached for four years now and every single year I find that most of my athletes are motivated because its simply something they enjoy doing.  Yet I still find that putting a reward or punishment gives them the necessary motivation needed.  For example, I might say, "losing team owes me twenty pushups."  Something as simple as that will get them to play at a higher level even though they are already motivated because it was their choice to play.  I don't know if I am making my point clear, but basically giving students a choice of their interest may provide motivation but adding in that letter grade or percentage pushes them to the level they need to be.  

Overall I found the article extremely interesting and I am not even sure where I fall on the spectrum of grading or no grading.  One thing I can say is that I think our society relies on grades far too heavily.  Sure a 95% student looks good on paper but can you really judge a person just based on that information?

   

     

Math out loud and Orchard Garden Exit slip

The math out loud and orchard garden field trips were quite the unique experience and provided some useful thoughts on the use of field trips in mathematics education.

There are some clear distinctions between the classes in classrooms versus classes on a field trip. First of all, the learning in most cases is way more kinesthetic.  Your actually physically involved in the lesson.  Similar to coaching sports, you can only accomplish so much through talking, writing, or showing videos.  At some point you have to get out in the field and start doing.  In mathematics or physics, field trips can be a great way to accomplish this. Secondly, the learning is more attached and relational.  Not only because field trips are less frequent, but also because of the hands on experience.  Finally, field trips are simply a different venue.  You need change to see growth in your students.  Much like in weight lifting your not going to see any gains if you keep doing the same thing over and over again.  You need to be constantly shocking the body so that it doesn't get used to the routine and doesn't peek/flat-line.  Field trips provide this "shock."          

I think field trips are a great tool for education for various reasons.  For one, the repetitive nature of a classroom lecture can be quite boring and uneventful!  Field trips are something new and exciting, they disrupt the everyday routine and they are a great way to "hook" students in.  Students learn in many different ways, field trips have the ability to easily hit on all learning aspects, visual, kinesthetic etc.  I remember in grade 12 we went to play land for our physics class and we had a simple worksheet to work on that dealt with kinematics and momentum.  Of course it was fun because it was play land, but we had a lot of fun actually doing the worksheet itself.  Going from doing problems and having to imagine it in your head or seeing a diagram on a sheet of paper versus actually going out and physically seeing the problems on such a large and real scale is something that a classroom can't provide.  Another benefit is that field trips can act as way to teach new concepts or reinforce those previously taught.  Not only are field trips a good way to hook students in, they are also a good way to provide real connections between the material in class and the applications to a real environment.  There are some obvious problems with field trips though.  The logistics and administrative aspects are one hurdle, and the amount actually learn't by students is another.  Are the students having fun while learning.  Or just having fun? Or neither?         

I thought the orchard garden was not as useful as the math out loud performance.  It was a great idea to try and connect biology, botany, art, and mathematics through using the orchard garden but I didn't seem to connect with it.  I found myself caught up in the drawings themselves versus the applications they had to mathematics.  I didn't connect with it.  I think this type of problem regardless of field trip or not will present itself to certain students.  You're not going to be able to connect with all your students consistenly.  However I am sure this was and could be very helpful to a lot of students, especially those who already have an interest in the other disciplines.  On the other hand, I found the math out loud performance to be amazing!  Using drama to convey certain mathematical topics was something I have never experienced before.  It had just the right amount of humour and entertainment to keep most students interested and it was the perfect length.  From a teaching perspective this could be a great introductory hook to get kids to see the real world applications of mathematics and it can be a great way to connect those who are interested in fine arts.  Going in as a student I actually learn't a few cool facts like the ratio of meandering river is pi!!! I was quite entertained.              

Ancestral genres of mathematical graphs

Reading Susan's article "Ancestral genres of mathematical graphs," has not only made me eager to pursue further knowledge on the importance of incorporating historical and cultural relations to mathematical graphs but it has also raised interest for using "multisensory pedagogies" and "making cross disciplinary connections" to help students connect better with mathematics.  I think this ties into the idea of relational and instrumental understanding.  Prior to all these readings my views on mathematics education were narrow and one dimensional.  Particularly skewed towards the instrumental side.  However, it seems as if using multisensory pedagogy and making connections to other disciplines and history provides great benefits.  The power of actually knowing and understanding the mathematics far outweighs linear memorization.  Susan provides a great example of this in her graphs and gestures project.  I wrote a reflection at the start of the program in another class and I was convinced that we should be isolating mathematics as it's own unique discipline and that the way we should teach it should be instrumentally(mainly because this is the way I was taught).  Maybe I am just easily persuaded but after only 3 or so short weeks my original opinions are still remotely present but I am definitely swaying to the other side of the pendulum.            

Susan focuses more specifically on the cultural, historical, and human equivalences with respect to mathematical graphs.  Who knew the "up-right," "down-left," positive, and negative of graphs were so heavily influenced through our culture, history and so many other factors!!  After years and years of working with mathematical graphs I still found this quite intriguing.  Bringing this knowledge to a young student could provide the insight and motivation needed to enjoy mathematics.  Even though the article more specifically focuses on mathematical graphs, I think this can be translated to other subjects within mathematics.   




         

"On becoming a reflective teacher"

After reading “On becoming a reflective Teacher,” one of the main points that stuck out to me was was the openmindedness trait. Grant and Zeichner say that “you not only ask why things are the way the are, but also how then can be made better,” and this really caught my attention. Upon entering the education program I was expecting to learn effective strategies, styles, and methods of teaching. Of course I still expect this, but now I hope to consciously challenge some of those and see if I can insert my own flair and offer improvements. The story about Mary Smith was also quite intriguing to me. I have gone through similar experiences in coaching when you have certain athletes that don't want to be there, or they simply don't see the value in certain concepts you are trying to teach them. There have been times when I have given up on these athletes. There have also been times when I have been more persistent and optimistic with these specific athletes, eventually bonding with them and gaining their respect. This is way more rewarding then just giving up. I can see how this will relate in a classroom setting and I am sure it will happen more frequently because most athletes are motivated, where as a lot of students aren't. I look forward to opportunities like that.

Even though this paper may be outdated, for the most part the concepts are relevant.

I think being a reflective teacher is still, and always will be what we should strive for. Students in 1980 were unique and different much like the students in 2012 are unique and different. Being a reflective teacher takes into account each unique individual and is able to adapt accordingly. We have to be willing to challenge what we already know, we have to be open to new ideas and concepts, and we have to be able to evolve. Being a teacher entails being a student as well.

Going into our practicums it seems as if Grant and Zeichner agree that we should be asking our teacher sponsors questions as to why they do the things they do. Will certain teachers get agitated if we keep peppering them with questions?? Should we just cooperate and go with the flow while asking these questions to ourselves?? Or is it important for us to learn what kind of teacher we have and then cater to them?? For me personally, I think it will be important to interject our own style while taking in and soaking up what they have to offer.

Exit Slip Sfard Article

Our group discussion focused a lot on cultural differences in the way we teach math.  Our western system is more tailored to specific students needs and learning abilities where as somewhere like china has a more linear system.  Which one is the best? I don't think we know the answer to this but I think the best we can do is to just adapt constantly.  The "westernised" system seems to be at least trying to get better constantly by making changes to the way we educate.  We are always doing a little bit of trial and error.  In our group we discussed an aspect of the pendulum swinging back and forth we our education system may be doing, but at the same time this pendulum is moving forward in the right direction.  So if you can imagine the pendulum going back and forth along the y and x axis but at the same time it is moving forward along the z axis as we get closer and closer to reaching a "perfect" system.  These educational systems are constantly changing on this pendulum much like our sense of fashion is.

Thoughts and Reflections on Sfard's "new clothes -- and no emperor"

EDUC 450B Response to Anna Sfard article

“As a dressmaker, I can only strive for solutions that are good for now”

This particular quote stood out to me because I think she is trying to convey that mathematics education, research in mathematics education, and education in general is constantly changing much like the trends of the fashion world are always in flux. One day what you're wearing might be considered fashionable but three months from now its considered faux pas. As a “dressmaker” we only look for solutions that are the current trend, often neglecting past or future intentions. There will never be a set answer key to mathematics education research. This whole concept was very interesting to me and I tend to agree with Anna! Will we ever find a solution to mathematics education? Is there a “perfect” way to teach Math? Although I would like to be optimistic and say yes, there is just no way we will ever conquer that. Humans are incredibly diverse. We all learn differently, think differently, and react differently. For as long as this remains true(I doubt it will ever change) and as technology continues to develop, there will always be a constant need to continue research in mathematics education. As humans grow so do the ways we teach. Certain trends may come and go but for the most part mathematics education is constantly evolving. Or at least I think it is?? Looking back at when I was in high school I can't remember a single class that wasn't taught with chalk and a chalkboard. But now I look around and math is being taught online, through youtube videos, using powerpoint slides, by incorporating different disciplines etc. These are the solutions that we think are good now, it will be interesting to see what solutions we think are good 20 years from now?

As soon as I finished the paragraph ending in the quote mentioned above I found myself re-reading it 3 or 4 times to try and really grasp what Anna meant. Whether or not what I stated above is a correct interpretation of the quote, I found that this article got me asking myself quite often why is it important to teach math and why is it important to do research on teaching math? I hope as I go continue on in the program I will be better suited to answer these questions.

First post

Hey everyone, this is my first post