Teaching Mathematics

Without a strong emphasis on steps and procedures, students might actually begin to enjoy math because they will realize they can do math.  (Almost) nobody wants to sit and memorize steps to complete a problem, and many people will actually forget these steps at a later date.  Take the following for instance when comparing fractions: 1. Use the LCD to write equivalent fractions with a common denominator. 2. Compare the numerators: The larger fraction is the one with the greater numerator. Here is an example from an online resource- but does this confuse anyone as much as it confuses me? For the students that know what all of this means, those steps might appear to be easy.  But think about the ELL students in the class, or the students who have a hard time remembering the difference between a numerator or denominator.  These steps will only confuse them more.  Further, students will become to focused on memorizing these steps rather than gathering...

Each and every week, it becomes more evident that all of us who have been led to believe were not math people, feel this way because of how we have been taught math.  In our video this week, it is explained that most people are not introduced to math in the right way.  We are taught to view math as being all about the procedures, methods and rules.  BEDMAS is a great example of this.  How we multiply is a great example as well, we all know the traditional way of pen to paper:                                                                          12                                                                   ...

"Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes." - John Dewey In the commercial above, a widely known successful basketball player admits his success is due to failures. This is a powerful statement to embrace failure and encourage a growth mindset. Encouraging mistakes in the classroom might possibly be the best teaching strategy a teacher can implement.  Research shows that mistakes make our brain grow, whereas when we get an answer correct, there are no changes to the brain.  Making mistakes allows for learning opportunities and opportunities for reflection. Therefore, if Michael Jordan had never failed, he would have never learned how to improve and he may never have come to be known as the greatest basketball player ever. Celebrating mistakes and failures will encourage students to shift their thinking of mistakes from a negative to a positive learning experience. In my recent placem...

Image Retrieved September 15th, 2017 from http://bit.ly/2xrdv41 "Mind over Matter." How many times have we all heard this phrase over the course of our lives? And how many times have we been given this advice and answer it with an over dramatic eye roll? But we can no longer answer this advice with an eye roll because research supporting this phrase is plentiful! The power of our brains is truly incredible and coming to the realization that we have the power to do anything we want to is even more powerful (Or atleast, almost anything). Research shows that having a positive mindset can actually increase our chances of achieving what we want, but we already knew this right? I certainly did. However, even knowing this, I still never lived my life with this fully in mind. As educators I think it is imperative that we open our students eyes to the power of their own mindset because developing a growth mindset can help our students succeed in anything the...

I'm not a math person. That doesn't mean that I can't be good at math, it just means that I don't enjoy math the same way I enjoy written languages, or music, or art. To simply accept, however, that there is some kind of uncontrollable reason that prevents someone from being good at math (or anything, for that matter) is an idea that has been ingrained into our society. Math seems to be the biggest victim.  In order to break this cycle, we as educators need to know two things: 1.  Everyone can do math and everyone can be good at it. 2.  Not everyone likes math, it is our job as educators to motivate students and change their mind about math.   We've been programmed to believe that if we aren't good at math, it's because we aren't supposed to be good at math. We were born with some kind of different wiring. As educators we need to realize that this is not the case.  That all students can do math and all students can do well in math....

"The only way to learn mathematics, is to do mathematics" -Paul Halmos Bitter-sweet moment, now that math class is complete.  Going into this course in September was highly nerve wracking; starting with the math refresher course and knowing literally nothing made me feel entirely ill prepared to teach students math.  Now only 3 months later, I am about to embark on a 2 month placement with grade 7/8's wherein I am responsible to teach the entire math unit.  The best part about this, is I feel prepared! Throughout these 3 months, we all have been introduced to a plethora of fun and intriguing math activities that actually help you learn!  Further, I have learned some highly important lessons throughout this course to be mindful of when I am teaching my own students. Math Lesson #1 Welcome differences!   This is something I am entirely guilty of often neglecting.  This may be because in my own elementary school days, the way in which math quest...