Tierney Smith

LBS400 Abbott
Math Reflection Essay
2/19/2016

After reading the mathematics frameworks, it became apparent

to me that elementary teachers need to be confident in all areas of
basic mathematics. Teachers must understand what base 10 means,
and how to teach place value and its importance. You also need to
understand decimals, fractions, word problems, order of operations,
measuring and conversion rates. Knowing how to do these problems
is simply not enough. These math concepts are interrelated, and it is
important that we, as teachers, can teach that relationship to the
students. Students need to be able to realize that 1.5 is the same as
1.50 is the same as 1 whole and , is the same as 150%, is the same
as 150/100, etc. Many adults struggle with math because they do not
understand math, they simply remember an algorithm, and that just
doesnt cut it. If we can teach our students to understand math and
math basics, they will grasp algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and
calculus much easier because they actually understand what the
problem is trying to accomplish; what is its purpose?
I feel that throughout my math classes, I have only truly
understood math that was taught by Professor Delaby here at CSUDH.

By taking math 107 and 207 here at CSUDH, I was able to understand
the fundamentals of math in such a way that I feel confident teaching
it to children. I also feel confident that I can teach young children the
basics of algebra by 3rd grade. I have put this into practice by teaching
the child that I nanny for, and he is excelling in his math class now. He
has even started tutoring his peers because he feels so proud of
himself.
Now, of course, it would be nave of me to say that I feel
confident in absolutely every area of math. I struggle with conversions
at times. However, I feel that after taking SMT 416 ( Earth Sciences for
Teachers) I feel much more confident in the conversions.
I feel it would be beneficial to find my math portfolios from math
107 and 207. Professor Delaby had us write portfolios for each section
of our math classes, and we had to collaborate and write the several
different ways to solve each problem, and also explain how we would
teach this to our students in an elementary classroom using
manipulatives, graphs, pictures, etc. This was extremely helpful, and
boosted my confidence in my ability to teach elevated math concepts
to young students. I also thought it was very interesting that he would
give us the homework for a section, and have us complete it before he
had taught the concepts from that lesson. He wanted to see what we
came up with using our own experiences and common sense. When
we would come together as a class, many of us got the correct

answers, and we realized there were several different ways of thinking

and ways of solving these problems. He also had a chance to help
those who were struggling by being shown how peoples minds work.
Frankly, if you dont understand the reasoning behind these
standard algorithms, you are much more likely to make basic math
errors. By teaching the fundamentals, you will be able to check your
work mentally, and you will be much less likely to make simple errors,
such as carrying the 1 and so on. I am so grateful for Professor
Delaby. I wish that everyone could have experienced such a great math
education, and I plan on being someone to pass on that core
knowledge of numbers and algorithms to all of the students who enter
and exit my classroom.