Mathematics Learning: Interview, Experience, and Reflection (K12)

This project focuses on understanding and improving a child's mathematical learning experience. The assignment begins with an interview of a 9-year-old child to identify challenges in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, particularly focusing on mental math and confidence. The analysis highlights the need for a stress-free learning environment and the importance of practical applications of mathematics. A learning plan is developed, incorporating relaxation techniques and focus-building exercises, including class tests and engaging activities. The project also explores a hands-on learning experience using the abacus method and emphasizes the need for diagnostic tasks and real-life applications to boost the child's confidence and understanding. The reflection section emphasizes the importance of creating a safe and supportive classroom environment and the value of diagnostic methods to address students' specific needs. The project aims to enhance the child's understanding and application of mathematical concepts, ultimately fostering a positive attitude towards the subject.

Assignment

Contents
Interview with the child...................................................................................................................2
Analysis of the interview:................................................................................................................3
Aim of the study..............................................................................................................................4
Carrying out learning experience with the child..............................................................................6
Reflection.........................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9

Aim of the study
The aim is to make the learning environment completely stress free and friendly so that the
students can express themselves without any fear. The learning experiences of a child shall not
be causing much distress and therefore I have planned model that will be focused as well as
engaging and will not cause any stress to the child. This will help me e understand the learning
needs of a child with the help of the learning experience. The purpose of the assignment is to
diagnose student and carry out learning experience to move child along with understanding the
operations.
Interview with the child
This section shall focus on interviewing a child of 9 years old to find out how he shall be
responding to diagnostic tests. The name of this interview shall be to understand how a child is
trying to solve problems of addition and subtraction, and how he is studying or prepare himself
to understand multiplication as well as division problems. The interview is as follows:
Me: do you have any trouble understanding addition and subtraction?
Student No, I do.not
Me: what problems do you face in doing subtraction?
Student: I can't do backward counting in substraction
Me: do you have problem understanding in classroom?
Student: no but I can't do the homework on my own.

Me: I would suggest you start doing simple subtraction of 1 digit numbers and then move to
complex numbers.
Student: I cannot count the numbers on my fingers and that makes solving the numbers difficult
for me.
Me: you can also take the help of your parents and use practical and daily life situations to apply
to calculation to start doing subtraction.
Student: I shall do that, but will that help in my multiplication?
Me: multiplication is tougher than addition and subtraction and it will require you to follow the
classroom teaching method.
Student: mental maths is easier for me e and it does not pose any threat to my thinking abilities.
Me: doing mental maths is easiest and also helps in increasing the concentration.
Student: Thank you
Understanding:
While interviewing the student, I could understand that he has immense thinking and cognitive
disabilities and is scared of doing things on his own. He pays attention in class and also is very
attentive, but fails to do the homework when he is without any supervision. That might have a
problem in his understanding abilities later on because I understood that he lacks confidence.
The ability of the students to do mental maths is very helpful and I have always noticed in class
that he likes to keep to himself and work towards his own growth. He is not an impatient kid and
has immense capabilities to do better. He faces problem in calculation involving complex
numbers and that is why I suggested that he stocks doing calculation involving simple digits so

that his concepts becomes clear. I could understand from the interview that there is a limitation
to the child’s knowledge in the way that he does not want to exert himself beyond classroom
knowledge. I tried to help him to come to terms with the expensive and vast scope of
mathematics so that it is easier for him to verbalize himself and also apply his brain in practice.
Analysis of the interview:
Conducting the interview was a very good step to exam in my teaching abilities and proficiency
(Christe, 20017). I understood that as a teacher it is my role to increase the interest of the
students in mathematics to deepen their understanding. The interview helped me see that there
are various complexities in a child and it might affect the thinking process as well as cognition of
him. If I have to change the way a child responds to a particular situation, I will make sure that
he start studying in healthy and friendly environment. As a teacher it would be important for me
to have a very clear vision of my goals and my limitations as a teacher so that I can understand
what should be my steps that will help my students. To help the student I will have to analyse the
reasoning of the student in solving a particular problem so that I can understand the thought
process that goes in solving that question for him. The student has to deepen his understanding of
the practical applications of mathematics and not only limit himself to theoretical knowledge
(Masters & Geoff 2016). I would start applying theoretical knowledge and practice to help
students have a better understanding of addition and subtraction and the applicability of the
same. Not being able to solve sums on their own is an impediment to the student which has to be
solved otherwise the student will start suffering.
Stress free environment: to create a stress free environment, I have decided to plan a program
where I shall be utilising the relaxation technique. This method is this method is important
because the intellectual capacity as well as knowledge building can be initiated.

Creating a focus environment is also important and to make sure that the child is attentive in
participating in class I have started to take class test and assignments that will help me in
understanding the depth of the understanding of the student. The class test mostly is concerned
with mathematical skills of addition and subtraction which are very basic. While doing his class
test I understood that the child lacks ability to do complex calculations and he gets flustered
whenever he has to solve problem questions. The focus environment will help in eliminating any
kind of destruction I will be able to utilise the time in understanding the drawbacks of the child.
Focus environment will help me in understanding the shortcomings of the child and that will for
the creation of a better environment for me.
Learning plan:
I have provided the table below as a structure to guide the planning of sequences, a table which
perhaps could replace the somewhat pointless lesson planning proforma many teachers endure
while knowing it serves little purpose.

Engaging environment requires me to pay more attention to the needs of the child and in this
exercise I understood that conducting classroom interactions and Viva will be a good way to
engage the students. By increasing the students I understood that the child suffers from a
problem in expressing himself clearly and emoting himself. Engaging theory is a way of creating
groups in the classrooms so that all the students are made to participate. Participation is a very
clear method of understanding how a student represent himself in a group and compare all the
students’ together (Paul et al., 2019). It is also a very good method of evaluation because I can’t
understand which student was better than the others and what did I have to do to make all the
other students fall in the same line. Being able to create a more focus environment, I could pick
out the drawbacks of the students more glaringly and I could feel that multiplication and division
methods are difficult for students at this age and level. To move towards efficient calculation, it
is important to first have a very good knowledge of the basic mathematics, and that is why I have

focused on calculation by using simple numbers. Once the student starts to make proper
calculations, they will start to gain the confidence and that will help me in pushing the students
towards a better future.
Carrying out learning experience with the child
Once I found out the student had a problems in processing complex numbers I tried to utilize the
abacus method of teaching. It is a very simple method of helping the students to have a better
understanding of mathematical concepts. I further work on creating a structure where the
mathematics will be devices in two different units that will test the different stages and aspects of
a learning ability of a student. With the help of using arithmetic methods, I will teach the
students to write down all the instructions in class that will also help in creating a better
imagination for the students. In learning maths, it is important to understand the effective method
that I have incorporated that will help the students to enable themselves at all levels of
understanding. The student also had a problem in sequencing the numbers and therefore cannot
do backward and forward counting properly. This is a big problem that has to be solved at the
very initial stage and therefore this model will create a better understanding of the subject for the
student. By utilizing this effective model, I will understand exactly where the student is faltering
and that will help me in creating progress reports of the students. This method will also promote
the students to write whatever they see so that the hand eye coordination of the students are
retained and made perfect.
I shall therefore we carrying out simple calculation methods to test the knowledge of the child
and then level up from there so that the child can have a better understanding of the vast subject
of mathematics. As a teacher I shall be able to create modules particularly targeting the student
who are weak in calculation. For the student who cannot do mental maths properly, it is

important to constantly half the questions of applying calculation in daily life (Buck &
Snook ,2017). I will do field study which is better than classroom study because the student will
be able to apply his knowledge in practical life. I will there for select the diagnostic task of
practical learning abilities that will help the student to apply all his calculation in real life
situation so that he does not mug up everything.
Reflection
Being a teacher of mathematics is not a simple task because I have always found that students
are very scared of the subject particularly. During the classroom interactions, I understand that
students have an ability of mugging up the numbers without understanding how to apply them.
Some students face the problem of not being able to calculate very smoothly and fast and once
they become anxious and scared, they can't do the calculations anymore. Doing backward
counting is a very difficult thing for young students to do you and therefore it is the duty of the
teacher to understand how to use diagnostic methods to help the student in the future. From what
I learnt about this particular assignment, as a teacher it is my duty to make sure that all students
feel very safe in the classroom. Interviewing students to understand his weakness and strength is
a very big step for me because it has open doors and opportunities have started to come.
The child had some difficulties and while interviewing I could understand that he was suffering
from lack of confidence. As a teacher it is my duty to inculcate a habit of making the students
love the subject and not be scared of them. My learning experience was very effective in a way
that the approach that I undertook for the students to learn was a very special initiative for me.
Taking the students in the practical field is a difficult choice to make what students should be
able to apply the theoretical knowledge into practical life skills. My aim for taking the students
to utilise their expertise was to help the addition and subtraction with the help of natural objects.

For the students to be bad and backward or forward counting should not hamper his self courage
and integrity.
I focused on the method of using Australian teaching skills that work towards making the
environment for the child very safe and secure. This method is a big step towards understanding
that features need to work really hard to get the proper results of the students.

References
Buck, R., & Snook, B. H. (2017). Negotiating meanings and examining practice of ‘arts across
the curriculum’. Research in Dance Education, 18(3), 321-334.
Fuchs, D., Mock, D., Morgan, P. L., & Young, C. L. (2003). Responsiveness‐to‐intervention:
Definitions, evidence, and implications for the learning disabilities construct. Learning
Disabilities Research & Practice, 18(3), 157-171.
Masters, A. O., & Geoff, N. (2016). Five challenges in Australian school education.
Paul, J. M., Gray, S. A., Butterworth, B. L., & Reeve, R. A. (2019). Reading and math tests
differentially predict number transcoding and number fact speed longitudinally: A random
intercept cross-lagged panel approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(2), 299.