Importance of the Standards of Mathematical Practices
The Standards of Mathematical Practice play an essential role in the classroom as they set the standard of mathematical thinking and aid in furthering mathematical understanding. Tasks aligning with these practices use several different mathematical concepts for students to recall and show their mathematical understanding. Students must use problem solving skills to persevere through the variety of tasks facilitating in mathematical understanding that can be used in everyday life.
My goal while working through these tasks was to implement them into my classroom. After I completed a task, I often would go back through and attempt the task using a different method to have a better understanding of my students’ possible approaches. Working through the tasks using different method highlighted my own gaps in mathematical understanding as I often started with patterns and then when I went back through would use these patterns to create equations and graphs. Shifting to other mathematical models from the different patterns assisted in being able to draw alternative solutions for the tasks. Being able to see my own gaps in my mathematical understanding emphasized the importance of implementing the Standards of Mathematical Practices in the classroom.
I enjoyed these tasks as they were easily accessible for students, but also gave the opportunity for extensions to deepen mathematical understanding. Several of the tasks could be started by finding patterns within the given task The tasks also allowed an opportunity for classroom discussions about the deeper mathematical content to ensure all students had a proper understanding and alternative mathematical methods can be highlighted. All of the mathematical practice tasks included an overlay of mathematical concepts emphasizing the interconnections between mathematics for students.
There is a lack of student retention in the mathematics classroom that my colleagues and I are often trying to resolve. The tasks aligning with the Standards of Mathematical Practices create a solution as they often include students using several different models and concepts to complete an aligning task. Tying concepts together and having students recall past mathematical skills from these types of tasks could greatly aid in students lack retention and create a strong web of connections in student mathematical understanding. The tasks aligning with these standards often only took about 15 minutes to complete. Although most aligned with middle school standards, I consistently found myself finding places within my high school mathematical curriculum where I could implement these practices. The different tasks were engaging as several of them used scenarios that were easy to relate to. The short time frame and engaging nature of the different tasks allows these different mathematical practices to be implemented in the classroom as a warmup or a review without infringing on the little time allotted in the classroom.
The Standards of Mathematical Practice are essential in the classroom as they are easily accessible to all students, applicable to students’ everyday life, and aid in creating a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. The easy accessibility encourages students to persevere through solving problems through a task that is relatable. Tasks that are based on more real-world examples shows students how mathematics is consistently intertwined within our everyday lives. Using tasks that engage students to persevere in solving creates a stronger web of mathematical knowledge that students can better retain, which highlights the importance of incorporating the Standards of Mathematical Practices within the classroom.