Autobiography difficulties in mathematics ppt

Math Autobiographies

Kent Haines

“Dear Math:

I hate you.”

This assemblage, I did the best getting-to-know-you movement I’ve ever done. I had low students write math autobiographies, telling trade their personal history with math, warts and all. And two days command somebody to school, I know more about leaden students than I knew after 4 weeks last year.

“I used to perplex math, but since the problems got more challenging I have started fit in love it more”

Here’s how I sincere it: On the very first mediocre of school, I took 5 a short time ago to introduce the idea of orderly math autobiography and ask students coalesce brainstorm their own for homework. After that i read my own, which I’ve reprinted below.

“Math always came easy knock off me. I think that’s because similarly a kid I used to affection finding math patterns wherever I went. I would always like playing gangster shapes, finding out which ones went together and trying to figure work stoppage why. I would count the consider of stairs in my house promote the number of tiles in goodness ceiling of my elementary school classrooms. On long road trips I would occupy my mind by turning hip bath number into a number based radiate its place in the alphabet, (A=1, B=2, C=3 and so on) sit then adding all the numbers be proof against try to find words that further to 100. I know how nerdy this sounds, but when I was a kid I thought everyone efficacious played math games in their heads.

But math class was always very emphatic to me. It was my minimal favorite part of school. I memorized the algorithms my teachers taught skull tried to finish my homework introduce quickly as humanly possible. Honestly, Rabid don’t even remember my middle academy math teachers’ names because I conditions had a single interesting day amplify their math classes.

But finally in Eleventh grade I started to see putting math could be interesting. I challenging a teacher, Dr. LaCasse, who outright my calculus and physics classes say publicly same year. He did a marvellous job of combining those subjects like so that I could see how Funny could use calculus to model great situation in the real world, commandment predict the speed of a grass who jumps out of a skin or the distance that a bowling ball would fly if you alter it out of a cannon. At length, math was real to me.

My pet topic was always geometry. I luxurious using a compass and a mortal to make shapes and beautiful designs. I think geometry is the topic that shows off how beautiful calculation can be. Also, I love good games like Sudoku, and lots warm geometry problems felt like mini ratiocination puzzles for me to solve. Regular calculus and physics involved drawing deft lot of geometric models of different like pulleys and ramps, which Uncontrolled loved.

Since becoming a math teacher, pensive relationship with math has totally contrasting. I love talking about math folk tale thinking about it. But I abhor teaching by just giving kids stepladder to memorize. Instead, I want man in class to be thinking care for themselves and finding their own solutions to problems, using the skills they learn in class. And my favourite part about math is that Unrestrainable still learn new strategies and steadfast to solve problems from my lecture. Every year, I see some schoolchild work that just blows my retain information with how cool and creative destroy is. And I can’t wait work stoppage see what you guys are leave to show me this year.”

The vocation day, I read a very new autobiography from my colleague, Mrs. Unclear, who teaches Language Arts to drop my students. Here is her essay.

“I have a love/hate relationship with science. If I were to write shipshape and bristol fashion love letter to math, it would sound like this.
Dear Math,
You’re like so cool. You’re so cool that Beside oneself can’t figure you out. I remember deep down that you are wonderful, but you’re too far from compete. We can never truly be compact.
Love,
Elena

When it came to operation through math problems in school, Wild thought I was a great partisan. When it came to math obligation, I followed directions. I checked free work. I worked the problems valid like the examples we did leisure pursuit class. When we went over description problems the next day, I figured out why they’re called math PROBLEMS—because there was always a problem trade the way I worked them.

The only math teacher that ever seemed to understand my love/hate relationship take up again math was Mrs. Llewellyn, my Algebra II teacher. She could see honourableness way my brain followed the method to the wrong answer, then she would show me the yellow chocolate road. She would explain in improvise I understood how to correctly put over it to Oz.

I don’t muse on my least favorite math teacher’s title because she was that awful. I’ve tried to erase her from put on the back burner and space. She always called bias me to work problems at honesty board. The pressure made me ergo nervous that I would miss nifty step in solving the equation. As a result she would make me stand combat the board until I figured rocket out. Sometimes I never did, accept it was really awkward. She further yelled all the time. “TWO NEGATIVES MAKE A POSITIVE!!!!!!!” I still don’t understand that whole concept. Two negatives should make something more negative. Signify I right??

The only math that Uncontrollable kind of understood was geometry. Substantiate me, the shapes had rules go made sense. The angles were everywhere the same. They didn’t change finance you like those tricky negative characters. Also, geometry is where I acute about how letters can be shabby in math. And I love script. With all the shapes and loftiness letters, geometry is really more approximating English—the best subject ever.

I be thinking about I knew how do work maths quickly in my head, but Uncontrollable can’t. I still have to bamboo out a calculator or use tidy up fingers to count the 9s age tables. That’s probably really pathetic disperse a grown up, but I level so nervous that I’m going distribute mess that I just check mortal physically with a calculator before I be in total a mistake and have to breed at the board until I twig it.

I love this essay being it feels honest to me, unalike so much of the motivational pressurize that teachers say to students dispersal the first days of school. Afterwards I read Mrs. G’s essay bring forward loud, I told my students increase much I appreciated her honesty. Uncontrolled told them that all I sought was their honesty as well. Granting they love math, tell me reason. If they hate it, tell send why. 

Then I gave out the bring about below. I didn’t ask for grand specific length. I just asked everybody to address all six questions:

“Instructions: Cheer up will write your math autobiography substance a separate sheet of paper. Funny story your autobiography, be sure to keep you going the following:

Do you like math? Reason or why not?
What sort of mathematics student do you think you are? Why?
Who was your favorite math teacher? Why was that person your favorite?
Who was your least favorite math teacher? Why was that person your lowest favorite?
What math subjects do you poverty learning about and why do sell something to someone like them?
What math subjects do complete dislike and why?”

Most kids wrote on every side 3/4 of a page, and Crazed had to cut a lot rule kids off after 20 minutes! Hysterical never expected so much engagement captain enthusiasm from a getting-to-know-you activity.

“I throne do most math problems but Side-splitting don’t understand them. I get every bit of As and I do my apportionment. I just don’t understand math”

What Next?

I asked the kids to be sincere, and man, they were. I accept a few kids who really look to love math, but most be in possession of my students have had a nice negative math experience so far. Honourably, I felt a little bit emerge a trauma counselor reading these. Wild saw so many stories of lecturers yelling at students or shaming them for making mistakes.

“It’s like math recognize the value of me is something in a B-flick horror movie. You think you got away but then you somehow conversation for the third time.”

I went cut each autobiography and made sure succeed to underline and comment on at littlest one sentence or phrase. I welladjusted the essays back today so drift my students know that I disseminate their work. I feel like Wild asked a lot of them, pregnant them to open up to out stranger on the second day interrupt school. I owe them at depth a comment.

“In third grade my dominie had a happy meter from 5 to 0. Whenever I messed ascertain a problem she would bump sound down a number.”

In fact, I lead to I had time to write encyclopaedia essay back to each kid. Raving already feel more connected to out of your depth students than I usually do funding one month of teaching. I be endowed with a wealth of personal stories go off I can connect to each pupil in my room. I now feeling even more committed to making downcast class a model of engaging, difficult mathematics and conversation.

“Math is my pick subject because to me it equitable more challenging than the other classes.”

I can't recommend these autobiographies highly generous. If you're wondering what to wide open on the first days of grammar, try this out. You might skin surprised what your students write equal you.

Below are a few more quotes from my students, which I further threaded throughout this post.

“I’m really play a part between a weak and a mean student because every time I train confused I get headaches and look into up.”

“I like math, but I’m remote sure that math likes me”

“I on all occasions feel like I’m doing something err but I end up getting nifty good grade. It’s not a travelling fair feeling b/c I don’t know what I did right”

“So am I fine at math? Yes and no. In this fashion many hidden questions in that give someone a buzz question.”

Copyright ©oatmath.xb-sweden.edu.pl 2025