There are two main ideas that truly struck a chord with me as it relates to my continued development as a

teacher. The first is the importance of being able to, “accept that some students will not get the answer”
(O’Donnell, pg. 119, 2009). This sentence was one I reread over and over again as it felt unsettling and almost
wrong to agree with it. As a teacher, isn’t it my job, to the best of my ability, to ensure every child understands
what we are discussing, at least on some level? However, this statement was further explained in saying that, “not
all students may be ready to understand the math concept we are learning today, but they are building
experiences so they can understand it tomorrow" (O’Donnell, pg. 119, 2009). This notion is one that I, and even
more so my students, are consistently struggling with. They absolutely despise leaving class without the correct
answers or feeling like they’ve made any real progress on solving a task or understanding a concept. At the same
time, seeing this frustration as their teacher is equally as perplexing as I want to help them experience those ah-ha
moments they are seeking so passionately. It has been a true internal battle in deciding, when is it best to
intervene to scaffold and move their thinking forward and what is it best to let them productively struggle with an
idea and leave loose ends as is to be clarified later? In my gut I know that these moments of frustration and
allowing them to explore tasks and concepts is what truly develops their understandings and problem-solving
skills.

The second idea relates to developing a classroom environment in which students feel as though they are
supported. It involves protecting the psychological safety of students so that they can construct, “a positive view of
oneself and one’s potential contribution to the learning setting” (Nasir, pg. 529, 2008). Often times, especially with
high school students, what I find is that years and years of failure have invoked a negative sense of self as it
pertains to their math learning and identity. It is troublesome as they have experienced failure so many times that,
now, math is something they have no confidence doing. In turn, it is often difficult for them to find motivation to
do as they think it will result in the same outcome. When the psychological safety of students is protected it can
allow them to view a negative performance as a learning opportunity to improve rather than a stagnant
representation of their intellect and understanding. The way this is done is through reframing of the ways in which
students experience math, as well as, making sure that they are given feedback on how to take negative marks and
use them to propel themselves into learning from their mistakes to ultimately do well.

These two notions are truly integral in fostering rich mathematics learning for students. Without a safe
space and a feeling of security, students will not take the leap of faith and take the risks necessary to further
develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills. Coinciding with this is using this space to have students
experience uncertainty and sometimes not gaining to resolutions or answers they often seek in math. Sitting in the
realm of not knowing is often uncomfortable for students—and teachers alike—but is so integral to the process of
developing a deep understanding of the complexities that math can involve. As I think about these ideas, it is both
disconcerting and exhilarating as each new day and new year I have opportunity to attempt a new strategy that
has potential to best help my students become better mathematicians. It is not an easy feat, but one that I am
highly looking forward to as I continue my journey to be the best educator possible for my kids.

References:

Nasir, N. S. (2008). Everyday Pedagogy: Lessons from Basketball, Track, and Dominoes. Phi Delta Kappan, 89(7),
529–532. doi: 10.1177/003172170808900717

O'Donnell, B. (2009, September 1). What effective math teachers have in common. Retrieved from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41199387?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents.