Wow, what a quick semester and elective, exciting learning opportunities and interesting facts and information about maths. Discovering mathematics has broadened my mind to the idea that maths is all around us and is very important in general day to day life of everyone not just, mathematicians, scientists, teachers, doctors etc.
Mathematics has been explored throughout the first semester of 2nd year and in many different ways. Art, music, Fibonacci, games and puzzles, statistics, science and gambling to name but a few. Each topic was explained in detail with extra reading to inform further about the subject. The lectures had a lot of practical and investigative/practical work which made it engaging and enjoyable. It is quite amazing how so many different areas require mathematical knowledge to be successful.
With the help of Ma (2010) and her explanation of Profound understanding of mathematics (PUFM), I have begun to broaden my knowledge and mind. The different factors which are crucial in PUFM are longitudinal coherence, connectedness, basic ideas and multiple perspectives. Presented with this list at the beginning of the module I was, to say the least, clueless but now having researched these they have become a lot clearer and not just words on a page. Each of the four is so important when learning and teaching mathematics and I think if I include this in my learning throughout my university time and into my teaching, I will be a stronger person in teaching mathematics and other curricular areas. I will understand why they are being taught and their importance to get the best from the children that I will be teaching.
Overall, this has been a worthwhile module in my general development as a student teacher as it has captured ideas about mathematics which are crucial but also broadened my mind in general about the importance of variation of teaching. The importance of teaching subjects together and not as an individual with the likes of maths and science combined. Making the subject enjoyable and accessible for all will hopefully increase the competency in mathematics and in turn eventually help to close the attainment gap which the Scottish Government is trying to do. They are trying to do this by increasing numeracy and literacy rates in children which in turn should make a smaller gap in what is achieved in different areas of the country who may have different opportunities.
Ma, Liping. (2010) Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers’ Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States. New York: Routledge.
Scottish Government. (2015) Closing the Attainment Gap. Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/06/3853/2 (Accessed: 5 March 2017)
