Giselle Brito

LBS 400
Math Reflection
The knowledge that I am to know in order to teach mathematics in an elementary
classroom would be to justify, explain, and discuss different concepts. I need to have knowledge
of other grade levels, other than my own, to know where other students are. Also, I need to learn
strategies to use at different grade levels in order to teach the lesson. I need to be aware where
my students are at so I can create lesson plans that will motivate and engage the students more. I
have to be enthusiastic, encouraging, and teach students the critical thinking and problem-solving
skills they need for college, career, and civic life.
Math classes have prepared me to be creative when teaching a math problem. Also,
material given in the class made us figure out the problems before they were explained. Math
classes taught me different ways to teach concepts. Fieldwork prepared me to realize that not all
students will understand math concepts in one day. Some students will be quicker than others in
understanding the math.
I feel well prepared with the basics such as; addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,
rounding numbers, and solving algebraic equations. I feel less prepared when solving fractions
and geometric figures based on their properties. Fractions and geometry have always been a
challenge for me and I will need more practice in these areas.
The work samples that I plan on sharing in this area for my portfolio are some reflection
essays that I wrote based on some math articles from Math 207. Also, I will share a math
problem done in Math 107. The work samples will demonstrate how these two classes have
helped me gain knowledge of how students can learn best and have an interest when learning

math. When writing the reflection essays based on the math articles, I realized that math could be
fun. There are many different ways in how to engage students and encourage them that math
could actually be fun to learn.