Pei-Hsin Lin

Reflection on Domain A: Knowledge

My program of study in Adolescent Mathematics Education at Hunter College has

given me a solid practical and theoretical understanding of how to foster high depth of
knowledge in learners of mathematics in the secondary school classroom. In regards to
Domain A knowledge of learners and knowledge of the subject I feel lucky to have
benefited from many different tasks and experiences that were designed and planned into
my program requirements.
The development of my knowledge of learners began with SEDC 713: Methods 1,
taught by Professor Daryl Rock. Dr. Rock was patient and generous with his advice on
how to make complicated mathematics accessible to students who are not nearly as
mathematically inclined as their math-loving teachers. He stressed that reaching students
of all abilities requires teachers to find out how to keep kids interested and engaged, with
the frequent use of more than one modality or representation to provide access points to
different types of learners (be they visual, verbal, or kinesthetic, etc.).
These ideas were reiterated by Professor Frank Gardella in SEDC 723: Methods
2. Dr. Gardella preached that the most important task of secondary math teachers is to
take a mathematicians easy, fluid understanding of complex mathematics, and to distill it
into the simplest, most accessible explanation possible for dubious students to digest. In
class hed start by using ordinary words to talk about mathematical concepts such as
relative order, size, or position, before adopting the use of more formal mathematical
language and vocabulary. Dr. Gardella demonstrated that for subjects as varied as
algebra, geometry, and statistics, the introduction of new mathematical topics can and
should be tangible and visually rich laboratory activities. The laboratory activities from
Dr. Gardellas class promoted a very literal, hands-on understanding of how to construct

Pei-Hsin Lin

Reflection on Domain A: Knowledge

and interpret box-and-whisker plots, how to use ratios and percentages to scale up or
down cooking recipes or chemical reactions, how to add or subtract fractions with
different (but in some cases related) denominators, how to discover or prove the
Pythagorean Theorem in several different tangible ways, and how to experimentally
derive the radian as a unit of measure.
Other classes that allowed me to observe and learn from the execution of
discovery activities were MATH 620 and MATH 630, both taught by Professor Patrick
Burke. Two instances of beautiful mathematical connections highlighted by Professor
Burkes lessons were the use of the Tower of Hanoi game as an introduction to sequences
and series and proof by induction, and seeing the Pythagorean Theorem as a special case
of the Law of Cosines (when = 90).
Professor Burkes lessons not only deepened my understanding of secondary
mathematics, but also modeled clear and controlled classroom management and how to
give procedural directions. An effective jig sawing method that Professor Burke showed
was asking students seated in different columns to start with different columns of a
worksheet, which ensured that each part could be presented and explained by some
students, while all students still had the chance to complete the entirety of the task alone.
As a Hunter College graduate student I have also been afforded opportunities to
attend the annual ATMNYC conference. My favorite sessions from these conferences
were presentations by Paul Cinco and Gene Eyshinskiy about Geometers Sketchpad,
fancy visualization software that enables the animation of complex ideas like computing
the area of a circle by dividing it into infinitesimally small sectors.

Pei-Hsin Lin

Reflection on Domain A: Knowledge

All of the above classroom and conference experiences helped to supply me with
tips and resources for my present teaching responsibilities as a full-time 8th grade math
teacher at Tech International Charter School, and a weekend accelerated enrichment
instructor for the Science and Technology Entry Program at Barnard College of
Columbia University. In my own classroom Ive been able to try out the pedagogical
procedures and lessons modeled by others, and I have been able to develop more comfort
with both the logistical aspects of teaching and the relationship building that makes
mentoring students such a joy.
Looking back, Im grateful that my experiences in this program have been so
enriching and rewarding. Thanks in great part to the resources and ideas provided and
modeled for me, I have been able to achieve build some success and rapport in the
classroom. Although things dont always go perfectly as planned, I do occasionally
receive very gratifying feedback, such as when students express that they enjoy or prefer
my instruction, or when my principal has expresses that hes very impressed by my
learning trajectory and ability to turn feedback into action. I am grateful and motivated to
keep improving and finding ways to bring fun, engaging math lessons to the classroom.