I hadn’t planned on attending the Asilomar conference this year, as both my proposed presentations had been rejected. However I was on the waiting list, and was invited at the last minute, presumably because there was a cancellation. Once again, it was a smaller conference than pre-Covid, and I saw fewer familiar faces among the… Continue reading Asilomar Report 2024
Blog
Making Struggle Productive
At the start of the opening chapter of our new book (There Is No One Way to Teach Math), Robin Pemantle and I argue that teachers should learn to embrace contraries. The idea is that instead of choosing one or another option in a binary pedagogical choice, and instead of seeking a supposedly happy medium… Continue reading Making Struggle Productive
Proof in High School
Proof in Geometry Many years ago, when I was still teaching high school, I added a Teaching Proof page to my website, which included a bit of philosophizing and links to the relevant parts of the site. If you’re looking for ideas and materials on this topic, you should definitely check out that page. I’ve… Continue reading Proof in High School
Order My Book!
You can now order my new book, There Is No One Way to Teach Math (co-authored with Robin Pemantle). Until April 30, 2025 you get 20% off with code 25SMA1.. I wrote about it in my previous post, where I forgot to mention that I link to many resources throughout the book. If readers want… Continue reading Order My Book!
There Is No One Way!
This is the cover of my upcoming book about math pedagogy. Art teacher / artist Briana Loewinsohn created the image, based on this photo I came across ages ago: “There is no one way” has long been the slogan for my website and blog. It was inspired by the story of the zen master who… Continue reading There Is No One Way!
Working with Pentominoes
This is an update of a post from 2013, when Didax published my book Working with Pentominoes. You can still buy the book. It is geared to grades 4-8, though I used some of the content in high school. Pentominoes are a geometric puzzle, a staple of recreational mathematics. This is what they look like:… Continue reading Working with Pentominoes
Can Bots Teach Math?
For many years, Dan Meyer has been challenging Sal Khan’s attempts to improve math education through technological innovation. In the latest episode of this ongoing saga, Dan concedes that bots may be helpful with very small items, but he correctly points out that they cannot support students' very big questions. I encourage you to read… Continue reading Can Bots Teach Math?
Tangram Puzzles
When I was a beginning K-5 teacher in the 1970’s, my father-in-law introduced me to pentominoes. It was clear to me that there had to be some way to incorporate those in my teaching. It wasn’t long before I instituted a weekly "math lab" session for my students: every Friday, they had an opportunity to… Continue reading Tangram Puzzles
NCTM on Data Science
The National Council of Teachers of Math issued an official statement about data science. It is a Joint Position of NCTM, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Statistical Association, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the Computer Science Teachers Association. It is a short document, and you should read the whole thing,… Continue reading NCTM on Data Science
The Three Triangles
I recently added a guided inquiry worksheet on my website’s Pythagorean theorem page. It leads students along a proof of the theorem based on similarity. It is called The Three Triangles. This is a worksheet I used and honed over the years when I taught geometry. Upon rereading it, I thought it would make a… Continue reading The Three Triangles
Henri's Math Education Blog 