Let me first say that there is a wealth of information about education in the edu-blogosphere! I was initially overwhelmed by the task to find postings from two edubloggers to comment on, simply due to the sheer volume of options. Ultimately, I was helped by a comment from Jeff on one of my earlier posts that led me to the blogs of David Wees and John Golden. (Thanks, Jeff!) After reading through several entries by each of them, I decided to comment on two very different posts. The first, by David, begs the question, "Why teach math?" The second, by John, takes a look at using a mathematical learning inventory to identify what types of learners are filling the desks in your classroom.
I was immediately attracted to the first post simply by the title. This is a question that I know will shape my teaching practice for my entire career. David's thoughts about teaching math as "a way of thinking and learning" rather than as an endless toolbox of procedures prompted me to consider whether the current standards for assessing students and teachers support what's truly important in math education. What struck me the most from this post was his suggestion that teachers might be able to illustrate the "beauty and elegance of math." I can't express how many times I have struggled to explain how wonderful the patterns, logic, relationships, etc. that are so present in math are, and I am hopeful that I will be able to discuss this with other math educators throughout my career.
The second post caught my eye because I have been wondering about how to effectively implement differentiated instruction in a math classroom with a wide variety of learners. John talks about a math learning inventory that categorizes learners as mastery, interpersonal, self-expressive, or understanding, and I was hoping for some thoughts, ideas, or reflections on how to use that information to reach all four types of learners in the same classroom. I ended up posing this question in my comment, and I hope to get some feedback from John.
Overall, the experience of following two edubloggers was quite positive. Both authors covered a wide range of topics and provoked much thought on some of the issues that I have been learning about and pondering in both my education classes and my student teaching. Their thoughts and ideas are such that I would consider applying them in my own teaching practice. I now have two more blogs to follow along with Shawn Cornally's, which I explored during the summer, in my career as a high school math teacher!
You certainly made a thoughtful comment on John's blog, Erin, and the question you asked nudged him in a practical direction in a very interesting way. I was intrigued by the way in which he spoke of getting a sense of the learning preferences of his class, as well as of individuals. While this is surely not an exact science, I think that he's on to something when he talks about developing a sense that a given *group* prefers one way of engaging with material. I remember feeling that 3rd and 5th hour, dealing with the same material, were very different indeed. Based on what you've seen so far, does the idea that the preference of a group of students might emerge in a tangible way feel reasonable to you?
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