Teaching Mathematics

Counting integers can be a tricky concept for students, especially when dealing with larger numbers. This week I was introduced to a multitude of engaging games that make this process a whole lot easier for students!  There are a number of rules when dealing with integers- when adding two negative integers, it will equal a negative, adding two positive integers will equal a positive.  But, subtracting two negative numbers could equal a positive depending on the number sizes and subtracting two positive integers could equal a negative or a positive depending on the number size.  I'm sure we can easily see how this can become easily confusing when simply written.  C. Duffy. (2016). I25 Game Rules. [phone image] Retrieved October 20th, 2016 from my Iphone. Instead, fun games and exercises can be more effective for students and while they're having fun playing the game, they are also simultaneously learning these rules without even realizing.  One game to int...

Teaching math can be quite intimidating for many teachers.  This is not limited to us new teacher candidates, even my encounters with long term teachers show that they too struggle with effective math instruction.  Math is a subject that many students dread, but why? Students dread math because teachers dread teaching math! Its a cycle that needs to be broken- we need to find the magic in math again.  Math is everywhere but how often do we hear, "when will I ever need to know this?"  Dan Meyer talked about making math applicable to daily life in his Ted Talk,  Math Class Needs a Makeover , because this helps to bring back the magic!  In another Ted Talk Christopher Edmin talks about bringing that magic back into the classroom.  He urges teachers to find the magic again, this is especially imperative for math.  Check out his video below. After watching Christopher Edmin's video, I thought how this resonates to be true too often when it com...

Nelson Education Textbook [Online Image]. (2016). Retrieved October 3, 2016 from http://www.nelson.com/school/elementary/mathK8/math7/ Who remembers these textbooks?  I think most of us remember lugging these very heavy textbooks home after school, but students in the 21st century are having the luxury of rarely having to.  The way mathematics is being taught to students has dramatically changed since my days in elementary school.  These textbooks are not obsolete, but certainly do not hold the same value as they did 15-20 years ago and this is great news for students. Teachers still utilize such textbooks however, not in the traditional sense of here's the lesson, here's your example now do questions 1-7.  Teachers gather ideas, and concepts form these books and may even photo copy a couple pages, but rather, students are now being more interactive with their learning of mathematics.  Prodigy is an excellent example of how mathematics is changin...