6/11/11

Today we continued training with Hy-Vee's software. We spent quite a bit of time learning about how the software handles situations where an item is in multiple ads for different prices. It took hearing it a few different times, looking at a power point, and considering different scenarios before we finally understood how the software worked. It was a great example of how many of our students might not understand something the first time. We need to show them multiple examples of different scenarios and use different teaching methods to help them understand. I know most of my students aren't going to be teachers, but even in the business world, they need to learn to communicate and share important information with other employees. I think I can really help prepare my students by asking them constantly to share their thinking and discuss problems with their neighbors. This is something I do already, but I can be even more intentional about it after my experience this summer. I can also give them a reason for asking them to talk about the "how" and "why" of the problems we work on. I would also like to have a few assignments throughout the year where students have to present something to the class. I believe these communication skills are just as important as the math I'm teaching them.