Reflecting on 342...

In my earliest blog posts for this class, I found many of the readings that formed the foundation of my pedagogical understanding across all of my coursework. Skemp is a name I heard over and over, but I only ever read his ideas directly in this class. The hidden curriculum was an early idea that made a big impact on me and relating to it in Social Studies and Educational Studies extended that impact. Then I saw my math art project that I completed with Andy, Mark, and Sahl. This experience was especially valuable to me because it was my first collaborative project in the program and we all played to our strengths. 

We also worked through several open-ended problem-solving questions that really challenged me. This class illuminated the negative math experiences I've had in the past that still cause me to undercut my problem-solving abilities. I would get anxious every time Susan introduced a new question for us to work on because I thought, "Oh, here's where everyone finds out I'm a fraud, that I can't really do non-algorithmic math." But, working through several of these problems, I'm starting to unpack these feelings and I know these experiences will enhance my ability to empathize with students who will have similar feelings that they are not "math people." At the center of my pedagogical approach is that my students belong in my classroom exactly as they are, and they are the type of people who do the work that we learn about. 

This course gave language and theory to back up the inclusive and equitable education that I want to perpetuate. I'm grateful for his early exploration of foundational educational ideas.