In my last post, I reported on Avery Pickford's exciting presentation at the Asilomar conference. The idea of student-created problems was thought-provoking — here are some thoughts it provoked.I have no doubt that pursuing student-created problems is worthwhile, but a skeptic may not be convinced by the argument that we should do this because it… Continue reading About Student-Created Problems
Tag: Teaching
Student-Created Problems
This is the continuation of my report on last weekend's Asilomar conference. (Previous installment.)Avery Pickford's session was about student-created problems. You can read a summary on this blog (Without Geometry, Life is Pointless). Creating problems is, after all, what mathematicians do. Yes, they sometimes explore questions that have been posed by others, but even then,… Continue reading Student-Created Problems
Standards
Just back from the California Math Council Northern California conference. It takes place in Asilomar, a state beach and convention facility in Pacific Grove, near Monterey, CA. I've been taking this trip every year with the Urban School Math Department for who knows how long. We all ride down together in one van, and hang… Continue reading Standards
Complex Instruction
I visit a lot of schools and a lot of math classes. To be honest, those visits are often disappointing. Many math classes, at many schools, are depressingly similar: going over the homework; the presentation of a microskill by the teacher, while many students are thinking about something else; students starting the day's homework based… Continue reading Complex Instruction
Workshops in New York in August
I will be leading two summer workshops for teachers in New York City, Aug 13-17.The early-bird registration discount (15% off) is being extended to June 25.VISUAL ALGEBRAI have offered this 3-day workshop, and various parts of it, many, many times. It's about intelligent use of manipulatives and technology, plus a parallel axes representation. Also: three… Continue reading Workshops in New York in August
Puzzles in math education
Scott Kim, the author of the excellent Inversions, is launching a crusade to bring more puzzles to math education. He gave a talk on this subject at the Gathering 4 Gardner. (See the slides.) Martin Gardner, of course, is the author of the long-running Mathematical Games column in Scientific American. He inspired who knows how… Continue reading Puzzles in math education
Early Bird Discount
About three months ago, I mentioned my summer workshops for teachers and summarized how they will differ from their previous incarnations.Brief recap:- Hands-On Geometry, June 18-21 in San Francisco- Visual Algebra, August 13-15 in New York City- Re-imagining High School Math, August 16-17 in New York CityThe workshops are sponsored by the Center for Innovative… Continue reading Early Bird Discount
Playing Games
I attended an Escape from the Textbook! meeting last weekend. The first part of the meeting focused on the mathematics of the game of Set, and the second part launched a conversation about assessment, which will continue in future meetings. Avery Pickford took notes, and posted them on his excellent blog, "Without Geometry, Life Is… Continue reading Playing Games
Perplexity
On January 11, Internet celebrity and Stanford grad student Dan Meyer worked with the Math Dept at the Urban School, plus a handful of members of Escape from the Textbook! He presented his thoughts about how to design and present modeling problems, but in fact his ideas have broader applicability.I had already seen Dan's TED… Continue reading Perplexity
Dan Meyer live stream
The Center for Innovative Teaching is hosting two events with Dan Meyer on January 11 at the Urban School of San Francisco. Both events are sold out, but they will be streamed live (and archived) at: http://www.livestream.com/urbanschoolFrom 12:00 noon to 2:30 (Pacific Time), Dan will be working with the Urban School Math Dept and a… Continue reading Dan Meyer live stream