Interview with Kate: Secondary Maths Teacher

 

Interview with Miss Kate Rawson

Kate kindly gave up her time to answer a few questions about the use of interest/compund interest in the school environment and daily-life, and how she engages students with the content.

·       What is your job title?

High school Maths and English teacher. I mostly teach in the middle school with year 7-8 but also have year 10 maths.

·       What is your degree and when did you graduate?

I have a Bachelor of Education (Middle & Secondary)/Bachelor of Arts and graduated in 2014 from Flinders University in Adelaide.

·       Other than teaching maths content, do you use maths in your job?

I suppose the main reason I would use maths is for calculating grades. I use statistics and graphing for mapping student results which shows me their progress and averages. But most of the maths I use is within my teaching of it. I obviously teach all areas within maths quite equally.

 

·       Can you give a day-to-day example of when you would use this type of maths?

In relation to interest and compound interest specifically, I know how to teach it and can do the calculations but generally the bank does this for me and advises on the best rates. Even though I am looking for a house currently, I have not had to physically do the calculations myself.

 

·       Do you think means the content is less relevant and less engaging for students?

No, I definitely still think it is important students can develop these more complex problem solving skills. It is a specific type of knowledge but it can be very valuable, and for those students who are interested in finance, economics or business, it is good exposure and relevant for them.

 

·       Do you think interest/compound interest is used across subject areas?

I’m sure it can definitely be incorporated and linked into other subject areas like business and economics within HASS. However, my other subject area is English so I have not made a link between the two.

 

·       How did you develop these maths skills?

I remember briefly doing these interest calculations at school in about year 10 or 11 at the time, but I know I did not retain that information and have not used it again until teaching it to my students.

 

·       Did you like maths in school and what helped you engage with the content?

Yes, I really liked maths in school, hence why I am a maths teacher now. I did maths all the way through to year 12 where I did maths methods. I really liked my teachers and how they explained content and supported each of the students to fully understand what we were learning. It gave me confidence which I think helped me enjoy it more.

 

·       How do you try and engage students in topics like interest/compound interest?

I think giving students real world examples is important, like what people in the industry would use. It makes it more relevant to them and they can see why it is important to know the skill. For this topic I get them to apply it to a spreadsheet so they can use technology with their calculations. I think this has worked well in the past for the class. Similarly to my experience at school, I try and be as supportive to my students as well, because if they have a teacher who cares and takes the time to help them but also get to know them, they generally enjoy class more and are more successful.

 

Reflection:

Kate’s perspective on engagement for students in maths class was beneficial. Unfortunately a lot of students do not particularly enjoys maths so going back to building relationships with students and taking time to explain content to each student to ensure they understand will definitely help engage them and increase their confidence like Kate found in her own learning. Even though she has not found she has needed to use interest/compound interest specifically due to the help from financial experts and banks, I agree it is still an important skill for students to be able to complete to help increase their financial literacy and improve their ability to make their own financial decisions. Finance is also a topic many people will use within work if they get into banking, business etc. so as an introduction, students should have exposure to this.

Thank you Kate for taking the time to chat with me and providing your experience within teaching and the maths topic of interest!