So far, my experience in my classroom has been really great. I am really enjoying seeing the teaching side of high school.
There was one experience that struck me in a surprising way. I have two senior finite math classes. As we went over a new section, the students needed to find the x-intercept. I thought that this would be a review for them (after all, these students all passed algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2.....and they're seniors!). The whole class was lost and could not do it. OK, so we probably needed to review a little. That was fine. I taught the class how to set a "y=mx+b" equation equal to zero and solve for "x." These students were completely lost. They could not remember their basic algebra skills (move b to the other side and divide by m). This struck me as surprising because these students will be in college next year and their professors will not take the time to review something as simple as that. This class will be more work than I thought.
I especially like your last sentence...it sums up a big point from your observation and reflection.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do now? And what do you think caused this? Two not so easy questions, I realize. Is teaching tougher, more complicated...not sure about the wording you would use?
This sounds a lot like my class. It's amazing how students can forget so much when the past 3 years have all built upon those concepts. I think if they can build strong study skills then even if they can't remember a topic, they'll at least know how to review it themselves.
ReplyDelete