Course Reflection

It was an absolutely wild ride! I was very much sure of what kind of math teacher I wanted to be, and yet, I felt like my perspective had changed quite a lot. I never considered all of nuances of being a math teacher, such as which textbooks to use, what arbitrary information should we teach, and the root cause of mathphobia. I was ready to just teach off of a textbook for the next 30 years, but I found that math can be taught in such a more fun way! I really enjoyed learning about Building Thinking Classrooms, as I have never thought about letting students learn like that. I love the idea of making the students learn at their own pace, but still being responsible for their own learning. The teacher bird exercises also felt pretty useful, now that I have been on the side of both a student and a teacher. Even though it felt expected, teaching certain topics is much harder than if we were to do them as a student. But, it is also fun to be "stuck" in a problem, because the aha-moment of solving that question is such a rewarding experience that I want to pass onto my students. At the end of the day, I do believe that this is the right profession for me, and that I can't wait to teach a class of my own!

In terms of course feedback, I thought it was a fun blend between fun and learning. The blogs took a while to get used to at first, since I am so used to Canvas, but it's a pretty neat way to keep a record of everybody's thoughts and ideas since Canvas courses don't last forever. I enjoyed the garden too, but after a month, I did get a bit tired of it unfortunately, though it is something that I would love to try with my students as well. The deadlines for this class also felt pretty reasonable and doable, so nothing too much for me to complain! Overall, I had a very fun time :)