Review of Problem Thinking

 
 
Questions 
 
Some questions that I am struggling with through my problem of practice is:

•  Why do the boys play more with the manipulatives then the girls? Is this because boys need more movement then girls. Is it because the boys are use to building more?
•  Do I still need to be using manipulatives with children who are understanding the math concepts? Can I move on from manipulatives? Is it easier to teach without them now? Is understanding a variety of ways more important that mastering this one way?
• What am I doing as a teacher that is causing this to be a problem in my classroom? What should I work on? What needs to be changed? How do I figure this out?

Issues

Some issues or variables that present a problem for me:

• Teachers/students interrupting math lessons How do I get others to respect my classroom time?
• Having students understand what the manipulatives are for. What can I do to explain this to my students?
• Students wanting to eat the food manipulatives
• Students playing or building with the manipulatives instead of doing their work

Thoughts

• Setting up a math block that I request to be uninterrupted by other teachers or students
• Do I completely remove manipulatives, and just use hands and drawings?
• Watching other teachers with their math blocks. What are they doing differently?
• Having other teachers watch me teach and give feedback on ways I can be more effective

Ideas, possibilities, or solutions

• Starting next year off without having students play with manipulatives and only using them for math ideas.
• Having the girls work with manipulatives, while the boys have to use other means until they can understand it is not play time.
• Removing the manipulatives from the classroom.
• Working with another teacher or instructional coach to figure out a way to make this work.

I enjoyed this process and found it easier to think about the problems at hand. I also realized I do a variation of this when it comes to making a list of things to do. It helped to take a break because it allowed for me to calm down and forget about what I was thinking about, therefore I had a better point of view on things. I also see it as being beneficial in the classroom. If I feel like this as an adult, do my students also feel this way? And shouldn't I allow for them to take a break and walk away? Would it help them to get a better perspective on what they are doing?