Communication Article - "You Had to Be There!"

"You Had to Be There" is an article discussing the use of a demonstration classroom to teach other teachers about effective mathematics education. This article gives us an insight into the classroom of Duane Heide, a mathematics teacher in Canada. Mr. Heide answers questions about what attracted him to becoming a teacher. The article continues as Mr. Heide describes a typical situation a visiting teacher might see in the demonstration classroom. Heide explains in the article how he opens and closes the lesson in a way that allows students to works with each other and discuss how to address and solve the mathematical problem they have been given. After the class is dismissed, Heide holds a debriefing session for the visiting teachers in the classroom to ask questions and discuss what they just observed. The article is concluded with Heide answering questions about the experience of being the teacher in a demonstration classroom and how the students react to effective teaching of mathematics.

I thought that this article was very interesting to read. I had never heard of a demonstration classroom. As I read the article, I was intrigued by the amount of information that a teacher can learn from visiting a demonstration classroom. I thought this article was beneficial because it taught me that communicating with fellow teachers can enable a positive learning environment in the mathematics classroom. I liked when the article discussed the use of discussion among students during the lesson. This was beneficial to read about because it taught me that through communication with others in the classroom, students are able to better understand mathematical concepts. Discussion among students allows them to organize their thoughts and ask questions for clarification.

This article would be beneficial for classroom teachers. Through this article, teachers are reminded that lifelong learning is important to student's success in the classroom. Teachers can learn from this article that collaboration with other teachers can help improve their teaching skills. The article includes a list of questions that a teacher can ask themselves and discuss with other teachers to improve their teaching. These questions are very beneficial and useful to teachers. Reflective teaching by asking these questions can improve classroom practice. This article would be beneficial to first time teachers to help them begin feeling comfortable teaching mathematics.

Kotsopoulos, D. and Heide, D. (2009). You had to be there! Teaching Children Mathematics 15 (7), 410-415.