Veronica Herrero-Velarde
Dr. Rogers
INDC 4360
May 5, 2021
Reflection Essay: Math and How to Teach It
When reflecting on my fieldwork experience and considering what I have learned about
math and how to teach it, I am taking away the essential concept that flexibility is key in order to
meet the needs of your students. So much of the success of a math lesson depends on a student’s
prior knowledge and past experiences, the way the material is presented, and how confident they
feel with it throughout the lesson. Because these factors will always be different for every
student and from class to class, it is so important to remain flexible yet to be well-prepared. My
mentor teacher, who teaches fifth grade math, demonstrated this flexibility time and time again.
When she saw that a certain approach to a problem wasn’t working or that the majority of the
class was not understanding a concept, she readjusted her lesson to fit the needs of the students.
Often, I could hardly even tell that she was changing her plans because she changed courses so
seamlessly and without making a big deal out of it. One of my favorite examples of flexibility to
watch (that also has to do with teaching English Learners) was when she allowed one of her
students to explain a math concept that he was struggling with in his native tongue, Spanish.
They were conducting a student-led discussion about some practice STAAR questions, and they
were to discuss challenges they had and help each other clear up confusion. Allowing this
student to speak in Spanish made it so that he visibly brightened and gained motivation. What is
more, he was able to communicate his ideas better, discuss with his peers, and then hear the
concept that he had just explained in English so that his English proficiency could be boosted, as
well. I thought this was the perfect example of being flexible while teaching math and goes to
show that a small change can have enormous effects in one’s learning and motivation.
The second concept that I took away from my fieldwork regarding math and how to teach
it is to build and encourage math dialogue with one another. I found that so much learning takes
place when students feel free to share their thinking in math class. It may not come naturally to
most, but when it is encouraged and done often in the classroom, it takes conceptual
understanding to another level. Like I mentioned previously in my example with the English
Learner in the student-led discussion, it is powerful when students get to take ownership of their
learning. It was amazing to see students talking about the ways that they solved problems and
then watching other students explain why they agreed or disagreed with said method. Something
that my mentor teacher did often was initiate “turn-and-talks”. This was just where students
would turn to their pre-assigned partner (typically the person next to them) and they would have
just a few seconds to discuss a certain math concept. I loved this and definitely want to do these
in my future classroom because it is so engaging and gives the students a low-stakes
environment to take academic risks. It also helps them to stay accountable, evaluate what the
other student says, and communicate using specific math vocabulary.
Finally, though not the last concept that I took away from my fieldwork experience, I
learned that checking for understanding and providing immediate feedback are critical for
student success. This is something that I learned not only by watching my mentor teacher but
also through teaching a small group lesson. I found that checks for understanding are not just
boxes to check off, but windows into the minds of the students. They should be strong and
specific, not just vague questions to fill time. And then, when a student gives a response, it is
important to follow up and provide feedback. Mistakes are great learning experiences, but only if
they are followed up on. I saw how much learning can come from mistakes by watching my
mentor teacher guide students through explaining their thinking with specific questions, probing
them to get more information and to clarify their thinking. By the end, they usually caught their
mistake without her even having to explicitly tell them, and they will no doubt have learned the
information better by doing much of the heavy lifting in coming to the right answer.