Development of Mathematical Abilities

Teaching mathematics requires some exceptional and sometimes unusual skills; this is because some people have a phobia of mathematics while some just found the opportunity themselves to take the opportunity the course they never bargained for. These experiences and observations had made me realize that for me to be able to teach mathematics; I have to determine the class strata and then apply the appropriate approach. The approaches I have used include but are not limited to; making mathematics fun by referring to everyday life events with some sense of humor, stimulating critical thinking, and inspiring student interest in mathematics by trying to tell them its importance in their field of study and making it as easy as possible by discussing with them other than just pouring out the knowledge.

The main objective for my students at the beginning of a course is to understand the fundamental concepts of the course which will help them build the quality of critical thinking and further analysis that may be involved in the course.

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When this has been achieved, then they will be able to develop critical thinking ability and analytical skills because I believe that this is one of the reasons for studying mathematical courses like low-level algebra and calculus otherwise modern technology can solve all those problems; therefore, there will be no need for them to be in class learning those fundamental concepts.

Having taught many mathematical courses, I tend to use different strategies and techniques in the classroom depending on the strata of the audience I have in my class and the level of the class.

If I’m teaching a middle-level class like Linear Algebra or Differential Equation, I do prefer to teach students how to solve problems and give them a slight idea of its application, this will motivate them and be of more interest to them since some of them are from Engineering, Computer Science, etc. taking the course which they wish to be used as a tool in their field of study. Meanwhile, if they are mathematics majors I may have to go more into proving most of the Mathematical Theories. I make my class fun by using applications to show how mathematics makes life easy and creates a favorable environment for students’ active participation, also making use of discussion sets as time permits. Also, I use their class performance in assignments, quizzes, etc. to determine how effective the current strategy is, and low-level that is needed.

Wiley and Sons’ software summarizes my teaching style with this statement “I conduct my course with the precision of a maestro. I know which instructional practices work best, I know that practice makes perfect, and encourage my students to engage in their learning. I take what is abstract and make it practical and applicable. Student data and assessments are my guides to refining my course to bring about a beautiful instructor/student harmony within a symphony of learning”.

In conclusion, I think that mathematical courses as well as most other sciences courses are meant to equip students on how to solve problems (using critical thinking, analytical skills, etc.) starting from the existing knowledge; so, I use the strategies stated above in trying to achieve that. I also try to improve my teaching style as the opportunity presents itself as well as seeking those opportunities.