Conclusion (Part 2)

My Maths Metaphors

In Week 2, I mentioned about some metaphors that were given by the lecturer which I can relate to my maths learning experience. Having had to attend this unit for 12 weeks, I am now able to think of my own maths metaphors.

• Learning maths is like solving a puzzle. Be it a jigsaw puzzle or any other kinds of puzzles, in order to be able solve it, we need to gather the pieces of information and clues that we have.

• Learning maths is like participating in a treasure hunt where solving a problem depends on understanding the clues given.

• Learning maths is like going on a journey. Any journey has its starting point as well as its ending point. It goes the same in solving with any mathematical problems, if we try our very best to solve it, we will get the answer, it's only a matter of right or wrong.

My Personal Teaching Philosophy


Teaching Early Childhood Mathematics is not an easy task. One needs to have patience as well as passion in order to make the learning fun and meaningful. I realize that young learners should not be underestimated and lessons need to be interactive and expose them to language that is a step ahead of what they have already learnt.

After 12 weeks of workshops , I have begun to see that there are three main elements in teaching early childhood maths. The three main elements are:

• Literature That Teaches -This includes books or story books designed to teach maths to young learners

• Games That Teach -This includes hand-on activities as well as computer games

• Songs That Teach -This includes any songs and chants created to teach maths to the young learners

In order to cater for students' different learning preferences, I believe that these three elements should be included in teaching mathematics to early childhood students. Furthermore, with variety of teaching styles, learning can be maximized.