Maths and Me . 19/08/2018

Your name and previous mathematics experience (IGCSE, MYP, FIB, any other course)
My name is Rhea Shrivastava. I did take the iGCSE Maths course. I started in Grade 9 with the additional mathematics course and enjoyed it thoroughly. Between Grades 9 and 10, I decided on focusing on extended math, as I could feel myself neglecting it and therefore decided upon not taking the final Additional Maths exam. Though I do feel like in at the time this may have been better for me as I could feel myself struggling to keep up with both courses simultaneously, I am excited to learn and understand the contents of SL Maths this year and take it on with great enthusiasm.

What might be some of the feelings that you associate with mathematics?
How do you feel about starting this course and why?
Though it has not always been a subject that I excel in greatly, maths has always intrigued me. At some points last year I did feel apprehensive about sitting exams as I was always aware that the iGCSE exams were approaching. However, this year I feel extremely excited about taking the SL maths course as I feel like there is room for me both to excel at the course as well as enjoy the content and learning.

How do you like to learn mathematics?
Where would you put yourself on this continuum and why:

I would place myself right in the middle of this continuum. Though it seems cliche to say that I would like a balance of both being ‘explained’ maths and being able to ‘independently explore’ maths I strongly believe that maths concepts can be introduced to you and explained to you, and from then you can take it into your own hands to conduct in depth exploration to further understand the concept. I also believe that those who explain it to you can be there to guide you along your exploration so as to ensure that you do not stray far from the concept; however, I also feel that working things out for yourself results in self powered motivation which is imperative when it comes to taking on a course.

What do you do when you are “stuck” in mathematics?
In your past experiences, how have you successfully overcome such misunderstandings?
When I am stuck in Mathematics it is usually not just because I do not understand the concept of study itself, but also because I am unaware of its applicability in the real world. I usually feel that once I have had a discussion about its applicability with a teacher or peer, I am able to feel more motivation – fuelled by my own personal interest to delve into the subject further – and then I am able to wrap my head around concepts more easily. I also believe that breaking down the problem I am solving into smaller parts sometimes helps better my understanding of said problem.

Which one of the following skills is your biggest strength in learning mathematics?
As I stated before, I am a strong advocate of discussing what confuses me and what interests me; therefore, I feel that being a good communicator and self manager are both skills that are strong for me. I do believe that if you need help you should ask your teacher for it and at the same time you need to manage your own boundaries and ensure that you are not relying solely on the help of a teacher or mentor to help you and that the interest and problem solving should come from you as an individual, first.

Which one might be the biggest area of focus for your mathematics in the first few weeks of Grade 11?
I personally believe that in Grade 9 and 10, because of my struggles with coping with the Additional Mathematics course, I became very conscious of my mathematical capabilities. Therefore, I believe that becoming more optimistic, reflective and confident will help in boosting my self powered motivation and will help in building a sense of positivity when approaching any course content that I will learn this year as I feel that that will help me excel greatly.

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