My essential question is "What is the best way to teach mathematics so that it is retained?" My best answer is connecting mathematics to real life. This is my best answer because through my research I found that students become more interested when mathematics relates to them. Some students have trouble thinking abstractly. Also, the Common Core State Initiative will focus on applying mathematics to real life, so it is obviously important. It is better than my other two answers because it requires the use of both. Conceptual Understanding, Problem Solving, and Procedural Fluency can be easily obtained if real world applications are taught. Applying mathematics to students' lives make it seem more relevant, so therefore connecting with the students is also involved.
2. What process did you take to arrive to your answer?
I started off my EQ with "What are the most important steps to teaching the California Algebra Standards?" I realized that next year it would not matter because the Common Core State Initiative will replace the California standards. What I came to realize was that one of the major problems with mathematics is that students always forget what they learned. In the end, I changed my EQ to "What is the best way to teach mathematics so that it is retained?", because students need to remember what they are taught.
My potential answers were knowing the right teaching steps, connecting with students, and connecting mathematics with real life. I came up with my first answer after my 3rd interview. Cesar Covarubias, my former middle school math teacher, told me about his 3 teaching steps: Conceptual Understanding, Problem Solving, and Procedural Fluency. I came up with my second answer when researching articles on connecting with students. There were many helpful sources that included being respected and being less intimidating. However, the most helpful one was "7 Strategies for Teachers to Connect with Students", written by Tara Brown. I came up with my third answer after requests from my teachers at I-Poly. Mr. Ogden and Mr. Purther agreed that it was important to connect mathematics to real life, so that caused me to research that topic more.
After reviewing an article titled "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics", receiving new activities from Mr. Estrada, and getting confirmation from my final interviewee, Tor Ormseth, I came to the conclusion that my best answer was connecting mathematics to real life.
3. What problems did you face and how did you resolve them?
My first problem was with mentorship. My mentor works at Rivera Middle School in Pico Rivera, and her school days are from 8:00AM to 3:00PM. I am not able to go from I-Poly to Pico Rivera without it taking longer than 3 hours on the bust, which is my only means of transportation. To resolve this I have been going to Saturday school that lasts for 2 hours, and once in a while I go when I have a vacation day and that school does not.
My second problem was with my essential question. As I have stated before, I needed to change my essential question in the second semester. It was a problem because most of the information I received from the first semester was focused on California Algebra standards, so it was not that useful. I did not have much to back up my second and final EQ. To solve this, I asked many math teachers to help give me answers to the EQ so that I can research the suggested ones. I asked Mr. Estrada, Mr. Ogden, my mentor Mrs. Murillo, my old teacher Mr. Covarubias, and Mr. Ormseth. From what they told me, I was able to arrive at my 3 most important answers.
4. What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
My first most significant source was "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" on the Common Core State Initiative website. It is a 148 page document about what students need to know by the end of the year based on the grade. What I thought was interested was that it did not have familiar classes, such as Algebra and Geometry. Instead it had ideas from each original class incorporated into a year.
My second most significant source was Tor Ormseth. Mr. Ormseth is an Algebra teacher at Burke Middle School as well as a professor at Fullerton State University. He helped me get another feel for Common Core, and he also helped confirm that my best answer should be connecting mathematics to real life.
5. What is your product and why?
My product is that I have become much more knowledgable about how to help students understand concepts. I have also developed better relationships with the students I tutor, which is really helpful. I believe that my best product is that I have become much more experienced with mathematics and I myself have grasped a better understanding of some concepts than I had before. After all, teaching and simplifying mathematics to students forced me to review what I believed I knew.
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