Educators understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development.
During my Education 490 practicum in which I taught grade 3/4 students, these students were working on understanding the processes of subtraction and regrouping in mathematics. Some students were having troubles with understanding the concept of regrouping and when you should perform this process. I tried to research and think “outside the box” to help students with their growth and development with this mathematics skill that they were learning. Therefore, I showed them this little “poetic way” to help students remember subtraction processes. The subtraction tip is: More on the top, no need to stop! More on the floor, go next door and get 10 more! Numbers are the same, ZERO is your GAME! Afterwards, it appeared that students were becoming stronger with their subtraction regrouping skills while growing and developing in their learning, quite significantly. One student approached me a day later and said, “do you know what I was doing at the dinner table last night, Ms. Lorntsen? I was showing my parents how you taught me how to do subtraction!” This was an incredible feeling as I recognized that I was making a difference in my students’ growth and development with important math skills.