Visualizing With Technologies: Week 12

Have you ever been sitting in a class when the teacher suddenly pulls a clip from YouTube to give more meaning to the topic at hand? Well I have found myself in this very situation many times, and it prompted a deeper form of understanding on an otherwise complex issue. This is called VISUALIZATION. I have been told many times by mentors and professors alike that when teaching a subject, it must be taught in a variety of ways. I never truly appreciated that as I tend to learn best by verbalization. However upon the courses I have taken in my college career, and after reading the chapter on Visualizing Technologies I now have begun to form the significance this holds. Since I have the intentions of being a math teacher one day, I will look at this issue in a mathematical perspective.

Math is a subject that frustrates several students as understanding seems to be hard to come by. As teachers, we must learn to incorporate visual tools to make the complexity of the subject a bit more concrete. Manipulative's provide a good tool to bring more smiles to such an awesome subject, and provide relief for those that build up frustration toward it. In my Math 350 and 351 courses, we used manipulative's for just about every concept. Take area for instance, tangram pieces can be effective in initially showing students how to find the areas of different figures. It doesn't pose as scary as numbers and multiplying. Once children become familiar with this visual way of solving problems, they will then begin to see patterns and understand the formula aspect of area. It allows a child to not scare himself/herself out of math and so they become encouraged and are less likely to give up. In a subject that sees so many kids struggle, manipulative's and other visual aids are necessary to prevent math from getting a bad wrap. Another visual math tool that is effective is the geometry sketchpad, as it allows students to construct shapes and then explore them in geometrical and algebraic ways of thinking. This semester my geometry class had a homework assignment in which we were to construct triangles and other figures. At first I didn't like the sketchpad because it took some getting use to, but it did guide me in bettering myself when it came to drawing constructions on paper.

According to the reading; the National Council of Teachers of Math recommends that all grades enable students to create and use representations to communicate mathematical ideas, select and apply and translate to solve problems, and use representations to model and interpret math. If visualization measures are being included in requirements and recommendations, then educators must grab this by the horns and make it happen for the intellectual well being of our children. Visualization is the key to more success and can formulate a new driven attitude in students that increases the amount of effort put into education. Visual tools are the stepping stones to the learning process that brings children to the level of complexity that must be reached.