Reflection From My Reading of Chapter 1 and 2

I particularly like a statement and hold the same believe as was mentioned in the book, where it
stated that "students learn about mathematics depends almost entirely on the experience
that teachers provide every day in the classroom." (Van De Walle, Karp, Bay-Williams, 2013, p.3)

From my experiences gained from teaching, I believe that the best way to
bring a concept across to young children is not how well you explain or
teaches a concept but rather how well a teacher create opportunities for
children to explore and applied the concept. And from their exploration
highlight the learning point to the children. Children learns better from
hands-on and they understand better from their experiences, just like us.
Our experiences are the best teacher and learning opportunity for us.

Math is definitely not a theoretical subject, it should not consist mainly
words or the copying of steps written on the board by the teacher.

It is a subject that requires self exploration, it requires self application to
gain understanding.

For the child who could not understand why 1 + 1 is 2 then do something
that really affect him. Take away 1 of his favourite toys for two consecutive
days and asked him how many of his favourite toys have you taken. 
(I'm just kidding!)

Or

Give him a sticker for two consecutive days and asked him to count the
number of stickers he has.

Minus the abstract and add in the concrete for them to be able to visualize and feel.