Frank Cassano and Anya Sturm are math teachers at Marin Academy, an independent high school in San Rafael. They presented on "Integrating Argumentation and Problem-Solving" at the California Math Council Northern Section meeting in Asilomar last December. I quite enjoyed their talk (which I reported on here) and asked them to summarize it as a… Continue reading Integrating Problem Solving Seamlessly
Blog
Making Connections
It is not uncommon for would-be curriculum reformers to decry the fact that our schools are organized in different disciplines, and thus different departments. This affects not only curriculum, but also hiring and in general a certain view of education that separates human endeavors into separate, disconnected “siloes”. Sometimes, this complaint leads to the creation… Continue reading Making Connections
Function Diagrams
On BlueSky, Bryan Meyer asks: Henri, in your experience, what are the pros and cons of using function diagrams with kids (in addition to the more standard Cartesian representation)? My BlueSky reply: "Cartesian graphs are a life tool. Function diagrams are a learning tool, so less crucial, though I have found a few activities at… Continue reading Function Diagrams
Asilomar Report 2024
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
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?
Henri's Math Education Blog 