Importance of Authentic Context

Description of Work

Up until high school, I enjoyed and excelled at mathematics because teachers were able to present it in authentic context. Once I got to high school, I had the same teacher throughout, who taught only from the book. Because we had a routine of memorizing a formula, doing problems, and being tested on these problems, I began to see no relevance of it to my life. Every time a new concept or formula was introduced, I would memorize it but my enthusiasm waned and I failed to see how it was important. After being frustrated and baffled for a while, I started asking my teacher how people used certain concepts and formulas and in what tasks or careers they were utilized. In every case, he told me it did not matter and that I should get started on my work. Sometimes he reprimanded me for asking. Although I was already beginning to struggle in junior high with this subject, the lack of authentic connections from this teacher made it worse. I became so frustrated and withdrawn that I eventually decided to take a year off and only take what was required for graduation. It became my most dreaded subject which I thought had no connection to my life then or in the future. In mathematics classes in college, teachers used authentic connections and once again, I began to enjoy it.

Importance

Looking back on this I realize how curious I was about how things applied outside of the classroom. As a student, I did not want to memorize anything just because I was told to. I wanted to actually learn by connecting it to my experiences in some way. I was looking for a purpose to the work, and unfortunately my teacher did not provide me with an authentic context and discouraged me when I tried to find one. 

Lessons Learned

Through my frustration with this teacher discouraging my inquisitive nature, I realize how I like to connect what I am learning to my world around me. Students need to be given material that reflects their knowledge and life experiences. It is through this that they will be able to truly connect to the curriculum. Without this, there is little motivation and no meaning to the material. Not every student is going to ask the questions they have about a topic and it even took me a while before I began questioning. At that point, I had already become frustrated and my attention had slipped. Although I was proactive by asking questions, I realize now that if I would have gone beyond the teacher to find my own connections, I could have found a purpose. Rather than becoming frustrated at his lack of consideration, I should have taken the initiative to look things up myself.

Impact of Work

This experience will help shape my professional goal of providing an authentic learning environment by reminding me of the importance of connectedness between students and curriculum. By listening to student’s hobbies, interests and experiences, I can find what motivates them to learn and can take this into account when planning for lessons. Realizing where they are coming from, in terms of life experiences, will shape curriculum. In addition, this experience reminds me to value and respect questions from my students. I realize that I will not know the answer to everything my students might ask. What is equally important is that I either take initiative to find the answer or direct them to find it themselves. For example, showing them a book or website where they can find what they are looking for, and having them present their findings to class would be a great learning experience for all. Given how much unnecessary frustration I dealt with, I am certain that I will always provide this for my students.