1510 Post #6: Simple Subtraction

I know that many of my posts have been involved in one way or another with differentiated instruction. Part of me believes this is so because until I started my journey as becoming a teacher, I did not even think about differentiated instruction. I was not for or against many methods for mainstream ideas and how to get to the same place using different paths. I grew up in a very vanilla school that taught an idea one way and that was the way we needed to know. If a student had a hard time trying to grasp a concept, they were sent for special help. I do not know what happened in those rooms. Perhaps there they were being introduced to the same concept as I, just in a different way to help them understand.

I love the idea that students are so diverse and keeping teachers on their toes. When we started to discuss the different methods for subtraction, I assumed that it was going to be a short section. I was wrong, the depth that some of the methods goes into seemed to be a little long winded for me. That being said, I can see how that same long winded (to me) could spark that thought in a students mind. Expand using powers of 10. Perform using expanded notation, scratch method, the rules and probabilities; there is so much to what I thought was simple subtraction.


Again, I am going to suggest online game sites for additional help both inside and outside of the classroom. What I have learned in the last few weeks of taking a college math class has been that little in the classroom has stayed the same in regard to math content from the time when I was in elementary school. The changes are for the best and the additional support from both inside and outside of the class should increase the cognition of the student.

1510 Post #3: Review?

Well this week was a great change of pace. I felt like I was in fourth grade again with the multiples and divisors. While I did find myself having to look at definitions and trying to decide between the two options were slightly confusing for a moment, I found that this week was by far the easiest we have had so far. With that being said, I noticed that many of the mistakes that I made were due to rushing through the information and not reading the question carefully. In saying that, I have learned that my students may experience the same problems and it will be up to me to ensure that they are taking the time to really understand what it is that I am asking them to do.


It reminded me of when I was teaching a first grade class about addition and subtraction a few months ago. There were quite a few students who felt they knew what it was that I was going to ask so they rushed ahead to try and beat me to the answer. In doing that, they were getting the wrong answer and missing the point of my lesson. I warned them that if they did not listen to or think about the material that was being put in front of them, they could get the wrong answer or miss an important piece of the puzzle. What's good for the goose is good for the gander I suppose. I have to take my own advice and check to make sure that the answer I am giving corresponds with the question that is being asked.
I am hopeful that by reading posts of classmates, I will find a way to simplify the ideas to my class. Math really is about following the instructions and rules. It is not open to interpretation and is clear cut in what it is asking you. A divisor is the number that can be divided into another number. A multiple is a number that can be multiplied with another to make a product. Keeping it simple has always helped me and I am sure it will help my class. Math can be hard, there is no reason to make the easier ideas harder.