Maths is a topic that I have always taken pleasure from, and it’s been my favourite since primary school. I enjoy solving problems and find great satisfaction upon reaching the right answer. Over the last couple of years, I have seen the significance and relevance that mathematical strategies have in everyday life. I believe that further enhancement of my knowledge in this subject would allow me to be more effective in my career.
I feel that I am well equipped to undertake this programme, as I am currently studying A-Level Mathematics and Further Maths. I’ve taken modules in Pure Maths, Stats, and Mechanics. I consider the course to be suitable as the additional year provides me the opportunity to study the subject with a higher degree of expertise. This would be ideal if I wish to pursue a career as a professional Mathematician.
Our writers can help you with any type of essay. For any subject
Order now
The Master of Math programme also allows me to customise the course to suit my personal area of interest: Pure Maths. I have attended two placements that have reinforced my desire to have a career strongly based upon maths. I have completed two weeks of work experience in June 2000 at Wenham Major, an accounting firm in Birmingham. I have also worked as a volunteer teaching assistant from November 2000 for nine months, in a Year One class at St. Michael’s Junior and Infant School in Handsworth. This role involved helping children with their maths.
I participate in a variety of extracurricular activities in school. I am a member of a company called Ice, a branch of the Young Enterprise. My role as Deputy Finance Manager allows me to utilise my mathematical skills to ensure the financial success of the company. I also passed the Young Enterprise exam with distinction. Furthermore, I’ve completed the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme to Bronze level, which involved volunteering at a St. Giles Hospice Shop and learning to develop my own photographs in the school’s darkroom, a skill that I continue to enjoy. Outside of school, I’m part of a local youth group named Emphasis Venture Scouts.
With this organisation, I’ve participated in numerous outward bound activities and served as a young leader during a cub camp weekend at the end of June 2001. My responsibilities included overseeing children aged eight to eleven, ensuring they had a good weekend. Additionally, I enjoy watching sport, specifically football, and am a passionate supporter of Birmingham City Football Club, being a season ticket holder. I also enjoy cricket and tennis, which I play for recreation. Besides this, I love travelling abroad, having visited both France and America three times, exploring the East and West coasts. Through school, I’ve participated in two German exchanges to Kaufbeuren in Bavaria, which increased my confidence, broadened my understanding of German culture, and improved my ability to communicate in German.
During my time in the Sixth Form, I have given back to the institution by providing solutions. Currently, I am a Type Prefect and have recently begun mentoring lower-form students by offering them extra help with Maths. I find this work rewarding, especially when I start to see their understanding of a subject improve. I aspire to pursue a career in Mathematics, perhaps as a professional mathematician or an accountant. After my work experience at an accounting firm, I find the latter to be another appealing career option. Overall, I believe that success is the result of hard work and will continue to strive towards my ultimate goal of a career in Mathematics.
The Creative Writing, Teaching Mathematics In Everyday Life
Associating mathematics to students’ everyday lives will be an objective for me as an educator. The studies I have read and my own struggles with mathematics have led me to believe that children need to make connections between the real world and mathematical concepts so that math becomes relatable to them. As it becomes relatable, students become more motivated to learn and more interested in the learning process. I believe that students will benefit from using journal writing in mathematics because it will engage them in further exploration and analysis of mathematical concepts.
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Educational Program and Assessment Standards for Teaching School Mathematics (1989) emphasises that “communication plays a vital role in helping children construct links between their informal, intuitive concepts and the abstract language and symbols of math”. The focus on mathematics has shifted from solving equations to solving real world problems and explaining how the solution is achieved. A fifth-grade teacher wrote an article in Math Teaching in the Middle School, about how she implemented math journals in her classroom. She would have her students work in groups to find an answer and then each child would explain the process in his or her math journal. She stated, “The writing helps ensure that the student understands the problem-solving process and recognizes how much mathematics is utilized in everyday life.” This is my objective as a teacher.
Our writers can help you with any type of essay. For any subject
Order now
My primary reason for wanting to use journals with my class is to seek understanding of mathematical thinking. I will have my students maintain a journal, and I will provide them topics to write about. I will not grade on grammar, punctuation, or spelling because I want them to express freely what they are feeling. I will check their journals after they write each time. This seemed to be a concern in much of the research that I examined. Teachers complained that it took a lot of time to review each child’s entry. I simply do not understand why a teacher would have students write in a journal without intending to review the work. I will read the journals because the questions that I pose will help me understand what concepts the children are grasping and which ideas they are missing, thus requiring further work with them on my part. This is very important, in my opinion. I need to be able to evaluate my teaching effectiveness regularly.
I believe that journaling fits well with my hands-on approach to teaching mathematics. It will allow me to feel comfortable enabling the students to explore without imposing on them specific concepts. I will be able to assign a task and then, at the end of the class, pose a question or a problem for them to work on that will assess understanding. I believe a teacher can learn a lot about his or her students and gain insight into individual students and their feelings about a particular concept through journaling in mathematics. Using journals is also an effective way of engaging each student individually. It will enable me to tailor my instruction because I will understand specific challenges each student faces, whether they are cognitive or emotional.
