The Math Teacher I Want to Be

        I can’t stop thinking about something that Professor Allison Hintz said during one of our math classes last week.  In fact, I’m feeling quite convicted about it.  At the time, we were having a class discussion about the importance of doing math talks in the classroom.  During this discussion, one of my cohort members asked Allison how to handle situations where students, who are called on to answer math equations, give the wrong answer.  Allison replied by saying, “Mistakes reveal that students are thinking about math and we want our students to feel ok about sharing them.”  She went on to explain that sharing our mistakes in math allows more opportunities for student learning because they show where students are having difficulty understanding math concepts.  Allison made it clear that there is a big problem with our teaching and classroom community if our students are never sharing incorrect answers with the class.  I really needed to hear this and I felt like she was speaking directly to me.

        I love and appreciate the comments that Allison made, because I will admit, as I reflected on them later, they had me feeling very convicted about some of the ways I think about math.  As a student teacher, I have been hoping that students get the correct answers because that not only reflects my “good teaching” but it also means we can move on and progress further in our mathematics.   By moving on, we can then focus on getting our students closer to meeting those important grade level standards.  Shame on me! Allison’s words spoke deeply to me, and they made me take a good strong look at my misconceptions and what should be really important to me, as a teacher. 

        I shouldn’t want all of my students to get the right answers.   In fact, getting the wrong answers provides incredible opportunities for students to share their difficulties, which are no doubt the same struggles felt by some of their other classmates.  Wrong answers should also cause the teacher to slow down, take a step back, and try other ways of explaining mathematical strategies or concepts.  Not every student learns the same way, and this will surely allow struggling students a different perspective and it will allow non-struggling students a deeper conceptual understanding.

        I must create a classroom culture and community in which it feels safe for students to openly share their mistakes.  If our students are only raising their hands to share correct answers, than we as teachers, are not doing our jobs right. I used to think that having a handful of students sharing their correct answers with the class meant that I was a good teacher and that the class as a whole must have all understood the lesson.  I now know that what it really means, is that I am not doing my job as their teacher.  If only students with the correct answers are raising hands and answering questions, it shows that the students who have the incorrect answers or are struggling with mathematical concepts are too afraid to share them.  This is my fault as their teacher.  It is my job to create a classroom environment in which students feel secure enough to say that they are confused or struggling. 

        In order for students to feel comfortable sharing their mistakes out loud with the class, as a teacher, I must first feel comfortable in my teaching, to be open and accepting of mistakes.  There is a feeling that if you are a good teacher, you will be able to reach all of your students and they will all learn and perfectly understand what you teach them.  If you are a good teacher, your students will all be doing well on tests and they will be getting all the right answers.  This just isn’t reality. As a teacher, I must strive for deep understanding, not perfect performance.

        I owe Allison a huge THANK YOU for prompting me to be self reflective.  This has caused me to spend some time thinking deeply about the type of math teacher I want to be.  I want my students to know that in our classroom, it is alright to share the wrong answer with their teacher and peers, and that their wrong answer actually helps our entire class learn.  I want to create a classroom community where all students understand that making mistakes is normal and good mathematicians make them.  I want students to realize that making errors shows that they are trying, and real effort should be praised.  I want to be a teacher who encourages their students to explain and challenge their thinking.  I want my students to feel pride, and not shame, when they change or revise their thinking or their answers.  Most of all, I want my students to see themselves as mathematicians who try hard, and who find wonder and joy in the complexity of mathematics. 

 

~ Christy