In order to have our entire group participate in a face-to-face interview with a math instructor we chose someone who was a previous high school math teacher, Mr, Y. He worked in Trail BC, Burnaby as well as a correctional facility. We were able to gain some valuable information from a great 45 minute interview. This is what we found out.
Teacher Questions
TQ1) What did you find to be your biggest challenges with your early teaching experiences?
Mr. Y found that classroom management was his biggest challenge. He struggled with getting upset with his students and felt that he could simply work around the chatter rather than clamping down it. He realized later in his teacher career that this was NOT the way to go about things. He explained to us that to overcome this obstacle we should make our expectations as clear as possible so students know what is acceptable in the classroom.
TQ2) What accommodations have you made to help students with learning difficulties?
Mr. Y had experience working at Burnaby South, which worked in conjunction with the BC school for the deaf. Having someone shadow him to sign or repeat what he was saying made him realize how fast he spoke and how important it is to work on your pacing. He said he would have liked to have had more experience with severe ESL students. His tip was to be patient, and mindful of student experiences and histories because “their problems usually have nothing to do with you.” One particular example our group found memorable was Mr. Y’s story of a young boy he taught who seemed to just hate him and wanted nothing to do with his class. It ended up that this boy had an abusive father of the same nationality as Mr. Y and so the association was negative thus showing us that we can’t take everything personally in this job.
TQ3) How do you engage students with low motivation?
Mr. Y answered this question quickly and simply, “Humour can break down barriers”. Having a sense of humour seems to be key to having a class that will respond to you. He also feels that it is important to acknowledge that math is not everyone’s favourite subject and we should not go into a class with the attitude that we think math is the most interesting subject in the world and we are going to make them absolutely love our class right off the bat. He stressed that the main goal for students with low motivation is to get them to simply come to class and to do this we should take an interest in what they are interested in and teach to their level of understanding.
TQ4) How do you vary your topics/explanations when students have difficulty understanding?
Jokingly he began with “Slower and Louder”, but he later explained it comes with experience. Mr. Y said that because of the curriculum, it is not always possible to find many different ways to explain things so everyone can understand. He suggested making use of your colleagues, they may have an alternative way of explaining a topic. Mr. Y also made an interesting suggestion, to use the brighter students in the class as they may have solved a problem in a way you didn’t think of that is easier for a student having trouble to understand.
TQ5) What do you enjoy most about teaching? Least?
Mr. Y explained to us that interactions with the kids he taught was the most and least enjoyable thing about teaching. He said that forming relationships with them and watching them grow is amazing, however it is difficult to watch them leave and move to new phases of their lives. He also does not like the ways certain topics are presented in the curriculum as well as the fact that the curriculum is sometimes unbalanced throughout the grade levels. One positive thing he said that our group found humourous was that he enjoyed having less marking than teachers of other subject areas.
Our group also developed five separate questions to ask a student. Sam interviewed one of his sisters who is in grade 10 math.
Sister #4 interview
SQ1) Why do you think it’s important to teach math in school?
This seemed to be a difficult question to answer and may have ended up being an answer that she felt she was supposed to give. Sister #4 said that math is important for future life and many careers. Interestingly she also said that it is important as it helps to develop ‘reasoning power’.
SQ2) How do you develop your first impressions of a teacher?
Our student bases her opinion mainly on humour as well as the organiztion of the classroom. She feels that the more organized a teacher is indicates strictness whereas a less organized teacher indicates a more relaxed teacher.
SQ3) Think of a math lesson that you found particularly memorable. What made it unique?
In grade 7 our student had a class that was instructed by a student teacher. When they learned about Pi the teacher came to school dressed as a chef and brought them apple pie. This indicated to us that she really didn’t remember the actual lesson about Pi, just that it was a fun class because they got to eat apple pie!
SQ4) How would you feel about incorporating more group activities in Math class?
Initially the student had a negative reaction to this idea and said she prefers to work alone. She said that explanations from other students usually just add to the confusion of her learning. She did however find the idea of group projects appealing.
SQ5) What is a memorable, effective way that a teacher has helped you to understand a tricky concept.
In grade 8 our student had a math teacher who explained equation solving using a unique analogy involving negatives being bad and getting sent to the basement until they come out positive on the other side. An interesting concept.
Our group found that Mr.Y's responses to our questions gave us some interesting tips and ideas that we can be aware of and use for our future career as educators. Our student interview gave us an unique insight into the mind of a math student.
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