Math Needs a Makeover

Friday, August 3, 2018

Two days this week I attended a math cohort training. This will be my second year in the cohort and I have truly enjoyed it. Our district puts the training on and a group of about 150 teachers K-12 get together to learn how we can improve our math teaching skills. We attend this 2-day kickoff training before school starts to get our wheels turning about teaching math. As the year progresses we are then tasked with taking the message back to our schools. It has definitely opened my mind to how I plan a math lesson to best meet the needs of my students.

This year we're reading Mathematical Mindset by Jo Boaler. It is such a great read and I highly recommend it if you teach math. I have heard it over and over from students that they don't like math and they're not good at it. This book really addresses that and provides you with ways to change their mindset. There are some fun activities and discussion starters in the book that I plan on using in a few weeks!

At the end of day 2, when we were tired and ready to go, (you know that feeling!) they played the following video. It truly opened up my mind to a new way to look at presenting problems to students. Have you ever introduced a new topic and only a few students really talk about math when you ask them to do group discussions? He's got the perfect solution for you.

What do you think?

4 comments

UnknownAugust 4, 2018 at 12:05 PM
LOVED this video! Thank you for sharing! I don't teach math however it has inspired me to look at lessons I teach where I can use his steps-multimedia, intuition, shortest questions, students build problem, be less helpful. My STEM activities will be perfect place to start!
Just Add ColorAugust 4, 2018 at 6:45 PM
Isn't it interesting the "ah-ha" after watching it? I had never even thought about it in that way before. It will change how I approach teaching all subjects.
UnknownAugust 5, 2018 at 1:57 PM
I wonder if there's a language arts version of the Boaler book? Too many students have the same mindset about English / Language Arts, as well. So many students dislike reading and writing, and they say they're not any good at it. So many students work hard to avoid completing reading and writing tasks, and they often successfully avoid these tasks, often for years. They get frustrated and lack perseverance to complete lengthy reading and and writing tasks.