I have been seriously considering the aspects of teaching over the past few months, and have been looking into several methods and aspects of why math is perceived as being hard...
A bit of my history and opinion...
I loved school when I was younger, but when I was in grade school, learning the multiplication tables was stressful in that my teacher played cassettes that blurted out questions that, to me at that time, seemed to go lightening fast. I did learn the majority of them, and I am fairly good at mental calculation, though I am not as fast as some...when given time to work on things in later years, math was great fun.
In my Jr. High years, I had a wonderful teacher, Mr. Sealy, who was a fabulous teacher and encouraged me greatly. He would explain and explore concepts that seemed to be in a near alien language. He would do it with such care and precision that the meanings and understanding were accessible to (I like to think) everyone in the class. It is this aspect of learning that I have been curious about through University and that is coming to the forefront of my understanding of teaching.
One study that I worked on in University was that of places having their own internal jargon, and that unless and until you are in that place, be it a place of business or a classroom, you may not know the language, or jargon, that is commonly used. I have found this holds true for a great many people upon entering a new workplace or environment, and the amount of jargon can be quite considerable. In respect to math, there are teachers that sometimes use different jargon when teaching and/or there are students that have a hard time catching on and retaining the jargon. I have discovered that this is an area of growth for me. The language of mathematics is something that I continue to explore and develop an understanding of.
Like the teacher in Charlie Brown, when a teacher starts speaking about mathematics in mathematical jargon, students may find the language inaccessible, and all they hear is "blah blah blah". In the process of personalizing learning, it is vital that the language of mathematics be accessible to all students as something that they can relate to and something that they are exposed to regularly so that they can develop a more comprehensive understanding of the many ways of expressing something mathematically. When students and teachers are able to communicate effectively in a mathematical language, learning becomes more meaningful.
In the ongoing development of my own understanding of the language of mathematics, I am working on some readings, including Van De Walle's Elementary and Middle School Math- Teaching Developmentally, the "Murderous Maths" books (fun learning, my kids love them) and working on developing a visual journal for math vocabulary. I am also re-discovering my joy for algebra (yes, it is actually fun!)
It is a great endeavour, and one that I hope to be able to share with students over time.
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