Last thoughts

Teaching is a very complex career. One is propbably always questioning what they are doing in the classroom and if it is the best for their students. I was very intrigued by the approach the teachers at Phoenix Park took with their students. The open ended projects and all the responsibility placed on the students was something new to me. These students gained a great deal of knowledge which they could transfer from one problem to the next. The teachers did what they could to interest the students.  Boaler (2002) makes a very positive statement about the teachers in saying," They adapted different problems for different students, and they helped students navigate their way through the problems"(p180). The teachers were there for guidance but ensured that the students thought for themselves independantly. Amber Hill on the other hand had a total traditional approach. They used the old chalk and talk and there was not much of a diverse atmosphere in the classroom. According to Boaler (2002), "many students appeared to be disadvantaged in the face of new or applied situations"(p177). They were so used to the structure and learning a procedure whereas they completed problems using that taught procedure. They were not able to think outside the box.
My own teaching methods involve a little of both approaches. I do not have open ended projects all year and I definitely do not stand up and lecture and then just assign questions out of a text book. I do guide the students, I introduce them to topics and I show them how to use different formulas or equations. However, the students are contantly involved, they are constantly questioned and I do  not give them the way to get the answer. I do guide them and ask them questions which leads them to figuring out how to get the final result. I do have projects and group work and my students are required to think outside the box. I always try to relate the new things we learn to what we have learned before and I try to make my lessons meaningful and interesting for the students. I am not comfortable, however leaving them on their own to work all year as the Phoenix Park teachers did because I am to afraid of the high percent of our evaluations that must come from a paper and pencil test.
Boaler, Jo(2002) Experiencing School Mathematics. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. New York.