I want to share with you my beliefs about education. But to understand my perspective, I need to give you a little background first.

 

When I was in High school, I was ok in math, but sometimes I struggled. When I got to calculus, I hit a wall. Everything stopped making sense and since this was the early 1990’s I had very few resources I could turn to for help. The internet was not available at my high school.

 

My teacher pulled me aside after the first semester to tell me I should drop his calculus class and not do anything with math after high school. Those words stuck with me. I had wanted to go into the science field which depends heavily on math. And this teacher, this authority figure, just told me I could not do it.

 

I let his comment affect my college career. His lack of confidence fueled my own lack of confidence in my abilities. Because of my fixed mindset, I changed my major from the sciences and pursued a degree in liberal arts.

 

While at college, I discovered the internet. It opened a world of education to me. It was not unit after I graduated, though, that I truly discovered the full potential of the internet as an educational tool.

 

After graduation, still interested in science, I studied on my own to learn more. I directed my learning, the pace at which I learned, and what I learned. The internet made this possible. It was the world of science at my fingertips.

 

After studying on my own for a few years, I decided to go back to school. The old fear about my math skills resurfaced. I was still scared of my ability to learn the math I would need to truly understand the science I wanted to learn. Finally, I heard my growth mindset voice. It reminded me that this was important to me and I would not know what I could do until I tried.

 

From that moment on I fought for my learning. My college classes still featured the sage on the stage professor working problems on the board with a classroom of half-asleep students. But that was only class time. At home, I found resources on the internet that made the learning meaningful to me. I directed my learning and based it on my “why,” my love of science.

 

With a growth mindset and internet resources, I flourished in math. I found a group of students to study with. We found a good professor who let us direct the learning. The professor asked what classes we wanted for each upcoming semester. WE chose them! If the college offered the course, he would teach it. And we stayed interested through every math course the college offered.

 

I found out, I loved math! I was not pursuing a degree in science anymore. I wanted to go further with math. I sought out an online based math program that could take my learning even further.

 

I realized soon after I started my math program that I wanted to be a math teacher. I wanted to be a supportive teacher who told her students they could learn anything with effort (Dweck, 2006). I wanted to show students that there is more than one way to learn, and it does not all need to come from the teacher. And I wanted to make math engaging and interactive so students could find why math was useful to them.

 

Reflecting on my educational journey I realized what I needed to be a successful learner. I needed to know why what I was learning was important to me. I needed to find ways to interact with the math beyond just seeing problems worked on the board. I needed to interact with others to discuss ideas. I needed the internet to be able to research and answer the questions I had. And I needed to understand that if I had the resources available and put in the effort, I could learn anything.

 

These needs are not specific to me. They are needs for all learners, and this is what informs my opinions on learning. This is my learning manifesto.

 

I believe students need to engage with math and with their peers. Math education should be more than a teacher working sample problems on the board. To prepare students for college and careers students need to share mathematical ideas with each other and not rely on the teacher as the sole source of information (Curran & Kersaint, 2015). They need to know there is more than one way to solve a problem. They need to know there is creativity and art in math.

 

I believe math education should include real-world projects for the students so they can find why math is important to them. Students should have a chance to discover problems that require math and then choose how they want to learn to solve them. Research has shown that students should engage in discovery learning where they learn by doing (Greenes, 2020). They should explore issues and problems important to them, work on ways to solve them and present what they have learned to show mastery of knowledge (Greenes, 2020).

 

I believe students need to be made aware of the benefits of a growth mindset. They need to know that through finding their why, and finding learning tools that help them, with effort, they can learn anything (Dweck, 2006). Students need to know to take in comments as feedback, but never believe they cannot do something. They need to know that failure is learning (Dweck, 2006).

 

Lastly, I believe every student needs access to a digital learning device and the internet so they can access the world of learning. With videos, games, and interactive tools, math can be made real for students. They can interact with math and see how it works in the real world. Without the internet, students are limited to only the information their teacher gives them.

 

Every student deserves an education that is meaningful to them. Students should never have their education limited because they do not have access to support and educational resources.

 

This is what I believe.

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The manifesto continues! Read more about my thoughts on education: More Manifesto

 

References:

 

Curran, D., & Kersaint, G. (2015, December). Orchestrating Mathematical Discourse to Enhance Student Learning. District Administration, 51(12), 2-3.

 

Dweck, C. S. (2016). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books.

 

Greenes, C. E. (2020). Then: My Observations of Movements in the Field of Mathematics, Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12 MTLT, 113(7), 598-600. Retrieved Oct 24, 2020, from https://pubs.nctm.org/view/journals/mtlt/113/7/article-p598.xml