Teaching Mathematics to Slow Learners: A Reflective Analysis

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

SOCIOLOGY1
Gibb’s reflective cycle
Description
I had always valued the profession of teaching as the teachers are the ones that have
boosted up the confidence of taking up mathematics for higher studies. Although I was a fast
learner, I did not have much affinity for maths. Most of the teachers that I encountered, did not
correspond to the needs of the contemporary students until I met my maths tutor, who boosted up
the confidence in me. I was a bright child and always performed fairly in class. In spite of this, I
lacked self-confidence and motivation. My teacher used to say that maths draws on a large range
of cognitive process. She used to say, that many students who hate algebra are good at geometry.
Although these words seemed funny to me, yet I was self-motivated with the thought that, since I
am bad at arithmetic, I might excel in abstract mathematics. My teacher has helped me to
develop perseverance and willingness to making mistakes and taking risks. After my graduation
from the Local Polytechnic, I started to tutor kids in maths, intending to channelize my
knowledge to small children. After I had finished off with the concept of numbers. I went on
teaching the children with addition. As I had already stated that was a bright student and hence
expected the same from all the kids. I did not realize, that as a mentor, I should focus on the
specific needs of each child. It is to be noted that one of those children was slow learners, hence
although I was proceeding at a medium pace, the child somehow failed to grasp the concepts that
were simple for other children. Eventually, the concerned child performed miserably on his class
assessments.

SOCIOLOGY2
Feelings
Intellectually, I thought that I had tried my best to impart them the techniques, but deep
down my mind, I wanted to give more attention to the child, who was a bit, slow learner. I was
partly doubting my capability as a teacher and questioned myself that I could have done better or
might have pushed my limits a bit, for example using interesting activities for teaching
mathematics. I should mention that that previously, I used to hate maths even though I was a fast
learner but it is my math teacher who had helped me to understand the essence of mathematics.
A math teacher should be someone who would inspire the students to understand and look
beyond the bookish knowledge and assists to become real problem solvers (Cohrssen, Church,
Ishimine & Tayler, 2013).
Evaluation
The entire experience of teaching had been quite knowledgeable as I came to know about
various instructional designs for children, who have a mild learning disability or are slow
learners. Before taking up this profession, I had brainstormed through early childhood websites
and Singapore curriculum to have an understanding of the overall curriculum. I have experienced
that being a student is entirely different from being a teacher as teachers have to put on the shoes
of the students before understanding what to include in the curriculum (Cohrssen, Church,
Ishimine & Tayler, 2013). Again, I believe that maths games can be a fun way to practice math
skills like numerical strategy and counting. Playing maths might be helpful to reduce math
anxiety in a child (Bird, 2017). Hence, I believe, I could have used interesting activities like
video games or board games.