Young Mathematicians At Work and My Autobiography

After reading the first chapter in this book, I cannot help reflecting on some of the things I wrote at the beginning of the semester in my math autobiography. I wrote that I always struggled with math because I could not see the creative aspects to it. I loved how this chapter compared math with art because there are so many ways to solve problems. When reading about how students solved the sub problem we worked on in class, I immediately thought about the relationship of math to art. The students in the book exhibited many interpretations using different materials, just as an artist would. I really like seeing this link, because it makes math meaningful. I also like how this chapter discussed the old way of teaching. I feel that some of my mathematics instruction was teacher centered where students were considered a blank slate. I believe this is one of the many reasons I could not find creative aspects of math. Exploring how the teacher used this problem in the classroom and how we used it in our classroom gave me great insight into teaching in a way that math becomes creative for students.