Yesterday, Dr. Bev Caswell led first-year Master of Arts in Child Study and Education (OISE) students in their first mathematics education class. Over the next six weeks, MA students will look at mathematics from the perspective of a teacher and explore how best to support learners’ mathematical understanding through inquiry pedagogies. The course is about creating compassionate spaces that invite learners to engage with mathematical ideas and to participate in the exciting pursuit of learning mathematics.
MA students were introduced to clinical interviews, which are one-on-one assessments that uncover a student’s early spatial, geometrical and number sense.
The students also had the opportunity to explore early years’ math activities with Carol Stephenson, senior kindergarten teacher at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, OISE. They investigated composing and decomposing numbers, Cuisenaire rods, symmetry, sorting and Venn diagrams. All of these activities can be implemented in early years’ classrooms and detailed lesson plans can be found by following the links beneath the pictures.
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- The Robertson team with MA students on the first day of class
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- MA students investigate Venn Diagrams
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- MA students explore symmetry using magnetic pattern blocks
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- MA students playing concentration symmetry
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- MA students composing and decomposing numbers
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- Carol demonstrates the many uses of Cuisenaire rods
