I hate math...

At school it was my nemesis! Excelled at English, involved and interested in Science, Math was the dry and boring part of any school day. Not to mention the humiliating part as mental math scores invariably did not go over 60 percent, times tables diligently repeated to my father evaporated and it just got harder and more unfathomable as the years progressed.

As a teacher I also struggled. Not with the ins and outs of third grade math but with making my students not hate math as I did. Inquiry based learning seemed to come naturally to me in all other areas but for many years I struggled to inspire my students in this subject. So about three years ago I resolved to do something about it. Knowledge is power so I decided instead of putting my hand up for every literacy/humanities review or curriculum committee I was going to be involved in Math!

I began with identifying with what I thought was under-represented in our school documentation and identified mental computation skills.  Inspired by a past curriculum leader I developed a handbook to support teachers and parents (and ultimately students) in teaching these skills in a fun and dynamic way. Creating this resource forced me to look at the way I taught these skills and apply a more differentiated and integrated approach in my own classroom.

This snowballed into helping to review the entire math curriculum at my school. Looking at the need for balance between integration and stand alone math units, using the workshop model to ensure all aspects of the math curriculum are covered while allowing time for inquiry. Reviewing assessment techniques and tools, sourcing resources for teaching staff while developing ways to make math relevant and problem solving authentic was a steep learning curve. With support from colleagues and administration, some outstanding professional development workshops, and use of the Common Core my own teaching practices have developed, as has my enthusiasm for teaching math. 

I now feel myself to be a confident and competent math teacher, with the knowledge, skills and resources to inspire and support my students in their mathematical journey.