Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

"Science and math are so conceptual that at times it's hard to comprehend, so students need concrete analogies or examples" ~ Latia (page 134)

This quote is in the part of the chapter where the author discusses different ways to convey ideas to students in any subject. The main idea is for a teacher to be able to get all students to learn the material and that comes through offering multiple examples and points of view. The main idea is that for students to learn and want to learn they want to be given all the necessary tools to master the material. Students want the material to relate to their lives and to be guided by the teacher. Difficult material can be tough for all students to understand but they all want a chance to learn about it and they each have their own way.

I think this chapter was interesting but not overly groundbreaking. I thought they offered up ideas and concepts that reassured my beliefs in how to teach students. I chose the quote from Latia because it dealt directly with my field of study. I know it is important for students when learning math to be offered multiple view and examples of what is being taught. I do know that not all teachers understand this about students, and they teach everyone the way they were taught the material. The moral to this book so far seems to be that in order to succeed at teaching students, the teachers and students need to be on the same page and be able to understand each other. Especially teachers must be able to understand and know their students inside and out.