David's EDCP 342A Blog

Please read this and blog about three 'stops' that you had when learning about the fraught history of mathematics education and curriculum in North America. -        It was interesting to learn that many adults in North America have “negative” images on those who love mathematics; such as eggheads, nerds, mad scientists, and so on. In Korea, it is quite opposite. People who love and are good at mathematics are viewed “positive” and well-respected by others. -        I was really surprised to see that “… non-mathematics specialists teach the majority of mathematics courses in the lower secondary grades” in certain schools. How can unqualified math teachers “teach” mathematics without strong background knowledge? I found it very ironic, because it is like unfit personal trainers get paid to “train” their clients. -        It was interesting to see that as the USSR was bea...

  Considering each teacher candidate had only 10 minutes to present, I think the topic I chose for the micro-teaching was appropriate. The rules to play the game are very simple and easy to learn for those who have never encountered this game. Also, each game is very quick and short, so that each group could play as many rounds as they wanted. However, the downsides were timing and pacing. Since the teacher candidates understood the rules very quickly and each game was very short, I still had about two more minutes to do my presentation. I should have prepared for the situations like that, but I was not. Although the presentation did not go well as I planned to be, it was a great opportunity for me to learn a lesson that teachers are always prepared for uncertainties in their classrooms. For example, if there are students who finish in-class activities early, then teacher can provide them other activities that they can do for the remaining time. Fe...

"How many guests are there?" said the official. "I don't know.", said the cook, "but every 2 used a dish of rice, every 3 used a dish of broth, and every 4 used a dish of meat between them". There were 65 dishes in all. How many guests were there? Let us denote x as the total number of guests who were there. Then: -         x/2 dishes of rice -         x/3 dishes of broth -        x/4 dishes of meat Also, the sum of the above equals to 65, which is the total number of dishes that were used to serve the guests: ->   x/2 + x/3 + x/4 = 65 ->    (13x)/12 = 65 ->    x = 60 Therefore, the total number of guests is 60. 1. Whether it makes a difference to our students to offer examples, puzzles and histories of mathematics from diverse cultures (or from 'their' cultures!) . I think it is very important for us, as teachers, t...

MICRO-TEACHING LESSON PLAN CHOPSTICKS GAME Subject : Pair Game Group Composition : 4 teacher candidates Date : Oct. 2. 2019 Duration : 10 minutes Big Ideas Mathematics: Basic Arithmetic Simple addition and division Prescribed Learning Outcomes and Achievement Indicators ·       Be able to play the game with another partner ·       Be able to explain the rule to others who have never encountered with the chopstick game Content Objectives Understand how to add numbers and decide whether those numbers are divisible by 2 Materials and Equipment Needed ·       No materials or equipment required Lesson Components Learning Activities Time Allotted 1. Warm-up ·       A hand game for two players ·       Widel...

1. My experience on doing the project:   While each of our group members was browsing through the Mathematical Art Galleries, Vincent introduced us the artwork done by Dr. Clayton Shonkwiler. His artwork involves two block letters as n-sided polygons and shows very complicated traces between those letters. Although the art piece itself looks beautiful and interesting for us to replicate, I, at first, was a bit hesitant not only because does it involve Stiefel manifolds which I am not quite familiar with, but also I found it difficult to relate to high-school-level mathematics. Thankfully, through discussions with my group members, I could see some potential mathematics that might be appropriate for my future students. 2. The potential mathematics learning involved & the place that the project might have in classroom teaching and learning: Although our group did not fully understand the math behind the artwork, we were able to identify some pot...

“Brothers and sisters Have I none – But that man’s father Is my father’s son!” Who is speaking? -        Me as “my father” Who is “that man”? -        My son as “that man” What makes this difficult/interesting? It was quite tricky to understand which person is who at first. When I finished my drawing on the relationships, I came up with an idea that "my father" is the speaker himself and "that man" as his son, and it seems to work perfectly.

(1.) Hello, Mr. Suh! This is Alex who took your math 11 class 7 years ago. I hope you remember me. I am writing this letter to say how much I appreciated your support you provided me throughout the year. As you may know, I was an ELL student, struggling so much in every class. I had difficulties understanding basic mathematics materials in English, although I was already familiar with them in my native tongue. At that time, everything – especially, the culture and language - was quite new, so I desperately needed support to adjust myself to new environment. I am so glad that you approached me and asked if there was any help you could provide. Not only did it help me improve and achieve my academic goals in school, but also it was the time that I decided to become a teacher like you in the future. Now, I’m a teacher candidate studying at UBC and I would love to see you next year! I wish you have a great day and hope to hear from you soon! Regard, Alex S....