A) My personal thoughts on chapter 1 & 2

During a mathematics lesson in the past, we were always being told by the teacher what we can do using certain strategies and protocol to solve the problem without understanding how and why. Today, mathematics should be fun and interactive, and at the same time, focusing on the process will allow children to enhance their thinking skills and understanding of the concept.


According to Van De Walle, J. (2009), a mathematics classroom in today’s context is so different from the past with the six major shifts in the environment.

• Communities that offer an equal opportunity to learn
• A balanced focus on conceptual understanding and procedural fluency
• Active student engagement
• Well-equipped learning centres in which technology is used to enhance understanding
• Incorporation of multiple assessments that are aligned with instructional goals and practices
• Mathematics authority that lies within power of sound reasoning and mathematical integrity (NCTM, 2007, p7)

Teaching children how to fish is relatively more important than fishing for them. Just like mathematics is a subject that we no longer teach or explain how to do the sums but to assist their learning process with logical thinking involved. Only through their personal experiences, they will grasp the skill with impression. In this era, technology is widely used as a media to assist children to process their thinking such as:

• online maths games or video
http://www.primarygames.com/math.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARptMWpgLbE&feature=related

The physical mathematics lesson needs to be fun, interactive and hands-on such as the brainetics way of deliverance.
• (parents/educator’s views) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpFOfHZPKDk
• (kids’ view) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAYg2OkRBlk&feature=related

Getting the children to be involved in the process of solving the problem will then equipped them with the skill.

To become a mathematics teacher is no longer an easy task now. Not only that it takes having great mathematical knowledges to become one but most importantly is your passion for children. A successful mathematics teacher should not kill a learner's interest in logical thinking processes but to have the passion and enthusiasm to facilitate their understanding in mathematics. I agree with Van De Walle, J. (2009) that becoming a mathematics teacher, you need to have the 1) knowledge of Mathematics, 2) persistence, 3) a positive attitude, 4) readiness for change and lastly 5) reflective disposition, especially being the mathematics teacher of the millennium.