New on my Web site:→ Animated slides on the Lab Gear model for signed number arithmetic.Note that for each operation, the model is based on what students already know. For addition, you put down the first number, then the second number, and finally count. For subtraction, you put down the first number, take away the… Continue reading Animated Demonstrations
Tag: Teaching
Hints! The topic that will not die
In a post about hints, last June, I wrote: "Any time we can ask kids to make something instead of consuming something, we should jump on it." My point was that merely asking students "what do you notice?" is not likely to yield the desired insight, because what students notice is constrained by what they… Continue reading Hints! The topic that will not die
Once again: heterogeneous classes
All classes are heterogeneous, some more than others. In other words, some of our students don't pick up new ideas as quickly as their peers. Can something be done about it?This is part of a multifaceted strategy to teach heterogeneous classes. Read about it in this article: Reaching the Full Range. The answer depends on… Continue reading Once again: heterogeneous classes
Northern California December Events
I suspect that some readers of this blog do not subscribe to my newsletter, so I will use this post and the next to let you know about some news in my math education life. If you did get the November issue of the newsletter, you might read on anyway, as I will be going… Continue reading Northern California December Events
Programming and Math Education
Some responses on Twitter made me realize I was probably not clear in yesterday's post where I argued that computer programming is a kind of literacy. Some people say that students should be exposed to computer science because that's where the jobs will be in the future. There may be some validity to that, but… Continue reading Programming and Math Education
Literacies
I've been known to argue that computer programming (a.k.a. "coding") is a new literacy. In this post, I'll try to clarify why, and discuss some implications. First, let's define our terms. On what grounds can school subjects be classified as a kind of literacy? I can think of two criteria. * The first criterion is… Continue reading Literacies
How To
I am often asked "what is the best way to teach equation solving?" (or graphing, or factoring, etc.) Conversely, teachers often want to share with me what they deem the best way to teach students how to do certain things. These conversations are based on a widely-held belief that our job as math teachers is… Continue reading How To
Embracing Opposites
A couple of years ago on this blog, I summarized "Embracing Contraries in the Teaching Process", an important article by English professor Peter Elbow. His key point was that there is a tension between our obligation to our students, on the one hand, and our obligation to our discipline, on the other. In many ways,… Continue reading Embracing Opposites
The Dark Side of Learning Styles
In my previous post, I stated that my teaching would not be affected by the discovery that the learning styles theory is not supported by the evidence. In a comment, I added: "The most toxic impact of [learning styles] is that some students are convinced they can only learn visually, or kinesthetically, or whatever. This… Continue reading The Dark Side of Learning Styles
Learning Styles, Teaching Styles
Over the years, many students, and a few teachers, have told me about what they consider their learning style, or in some cases, their learning differences. Meanwhile, over the years, I have been promoting what I call a tool-rich pedagogy, arguing that it helps reach students who have various learning styles.And now I'm told that… Continue reading Learning Styles, Teaching Styles
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