Week 3: Everyone is a math person

Welcome back to my blog!

I just loved the discussion that we had in class about everyone being a mathematician! We are all using mathematical concepts when we use numbers in our everyday lives.

We are all Mathematicians

Being a math person is not due to some superior genes. In fact, it was surprising to learn that many great mathematicians are quite slow in terms of the time it takes them to solve a problem. Instead of just zipping through a problem, they study it thoroughly, taking their time to examine the problem from all angles. 

Source: https://binged.it/2zxntBP

So, some may still like math more than others - some may have a good early exposure to numbers when they were young, but regardless, everyone can do math and it is never too late to start! Check out this awesome video about getting over the math mental block!

                                                  Source: https://youtu.be/tg0Z--pmPog

Mistakes are wonderful!

I also really appreciated this topic as I feel that it is natural to feel disappointed when you make a mistake. As a student, I worked hard to make as few mistakes as possible in order to get good grades but I think I missed out on the rich learning experiences that you can get from making mistakes. Scientists say that it definitely helps with brain growth. Scientific American published a very interesting article about this:https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids1/.

How to engage students

Who likes to do a worksheet or read an old tattered math textbook? It’s not a lot of fun. I understand students’ frustrations because they don’t find this form of math to be practical or relevant in their everyday lives. We need to make it fun!

I really liked the mental math activity we did at the beginning of class. I was the first to start and my card read “I have: 8  Who has me times 3?” It was a game that was so much fun and the whole class was involved as everyone had to listen carefully to come up with the number to determine if it was a match. I will definitely use this game in my future teaching career and will pair up students who are anxious. 

We need to make math meaningful. For example, John earns $15.00 each week delivering newspapers – when will he be able to buy the $139 Air Jordan running shoes assuming he saves all of his earnings?

We need to empower our students, to give them a sense of accomplishment as they progress. Try stickers or badges to recognize student effort and accomplishments.

Collaborative learning helps engage students as they work and learn from each other. It is definitely a great learning experience, and something that I really found effectively especially during my studies at Brock.

We also need to be able to explain why we are teaching a given lesson. Students need to be able to make applications to other areas to demonstrate true learning. 

Differentiation

We really have to get to know our students and find out they need, how they learn and give them a way to demonstrate their understanding. 

                                          Source: https://binged.it/2xO5Lrw

We can differentiate the content, the process and the product! I didn’t have any choice when I went to school – today’s students are so lucky!

Students are actively involved in their own learning, which really helps them make sense of the world. Students set their own personal goals and work toward them.

Students can work in homogenous or heterogeneous groups and use manipulatives! Learning is enriched when you work with others. Manipulatives also help students visualize problems.

The end-product can also be different by using parallel tasks to meet the variety of student needs.

 Alexa’s differentiation webinar was excellent! I really liked the learning style quiz.  I am a visual learner as I like to write things down, take notes, have a vivid imagination, organize information and create lists. Others may be auditory or kinesthetic learners. As a teacher, I will want to know my students’ learning styles. I will offer options to my students as choice is a key motivator.

  

Keep thinking about math! 

In closing, I wanted to share a good site from the University of Cambridge for ideas to help students keep thinking like a mathematician! https://nrich.maths.org/9085