Category Archives: 3.4 Prof. Reflection & Commitment

Over and Out.

What do I Think?

I chose the Discovering Maths module as an elective in my second year, because I was afraid of maths and always avoided even attempting any mathematical problems. Despite coming through primary and secondary school in the ‘top maths group’ and being very competent and confident in the subject, it all went downhill when i decided to drop the subject after gaining my National 5 A grade. From then on, I began to experience maths anxiety and my confidence in my own mathematical skills, which were previously very good, began to wither. For that reason, I thought it would be a good idea to face my mathematical fears head on and attempt to regain my confidence through this module.

This module has been great for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at different perspectives of maths and even just becoming aware that a huge proportion of adults and children also experience maths anxiety made me feel at ease again.

Through exploring maths I can now see the importance of it for every day life and in wider society, which I had not recognised before. I was not previously aware of how often I actually use maths in real life and this is something I want to demonstrate to my class when I am a teacher.

Including a variety of contexts in the lectures has been an effective way to make mathematics relative to us as students and I feel I have engaged more with it due to this.

My competences in maths have greatly increased from engaging with this module and I feel more prepared to teach this in schools. I have finally regained the maths skills I once had and can apply them to real life rather than just equations in a textbook.

My Thoughts on the Necessary Blogs

Blogging was a big part of this module and i feel it has been a great benefit to me. Blogging about the lectures and mathematical concepts has encouraged me to research more in depth about the topics and in return, has helped my subject knowledge as i know stuff I otherwise wouldn’t have known without researching and questioning it. It has also allowed me to take on more responsibility for my own learning and create blogs which are personal to me.

Through engaging with writing blogs, it has increased my confidence in putting my work out there in public for anyone to see. I am now more relaxed about who views my blogs and i feel i could continue to keep my blog up to date after this module has been completed.

My Future in Maths

In my future profession as a teacher, I want to show children that maths is fun and is all around us every day. I will specifically use Liping Ma’s theory of Profound Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics to aid me in the way I teach maths to pupils.

Overall, this maths module has been very influential for me and i hope to pass on the teaching to another generation of children.

Why did I choose teaching?

My heart has always been set on teaching from a very young age. I looked up to my teachers all throughout primary and into further education as they seemed to enjoy what they did and got a lot of satisfaction from their input in their pupils lives.
One specific teacher I had always made learning fun for us and that has made me want to help other children see that learning isn’t just about having to sit at a desk, bored all day.
I have a passion for learning and a desire to pass on this same enthusiasm to children to enable them to see all the possibilities and enrichment which education has to offer.
Although it’s not given much consideration, a teacher plays a massive role in everyone’s life at some point and this has encouraged me to take up this profession.The choices children begin to make early on greatly influence their future, so I’d like to help them make the right decisions to ensure they grow up to be the best version of themselvesĀ possible. I would like to become a teacher so I can make a difference to the next generation and inspire an optimistic outlook for the future.