My early forays as a curriculum developer date back to my days as a K-5 math specialist in the 1970's. A key insight of my young self was that activities intended for students were that much more worthwhile if they were also interesting to me. I learned to view with suspicion activities that were boring… Continue reading Polyarcs
Tag: Teaching
Calculation
Many students have weak arithmetic skills. Many teachers blame this on calculator use, but it is just as likely that the real reason lies elsewhere. For one thing, the teaching of arithmetic traditionally does not involve developing any understanding, so the learning is shallow and fragile. For another, students correctly feel that mindless arithmetic is… Continue reading Calculation
Geometry Boot Camp!
I will offer two workshops this summer (2017), at the Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA. Sign up for either or both! June 26-27: Hands-On Geometry (grades 6-10) June 28-30: Transformational Geometry (grades 8-11) If the times or locations don't work for you, I can offer a workshop for your school or district. Contact me directly.… Continue reading Geometry Boot Camp!
Comparing two approaches
Much can be said in defense of practice exercises, but when all is said and done, very few students develop deep understanding from routine practice. For example, compare these two approaches to the area of a trapezoid. Approach 1The teacher says: ”The area of a trapezoid is given by the formula h(b1+b2)/2, where h is… Continue reading Comparing two approaches
Yet More on Homework
This is part of a multifaceted strategy to teach heterogeneous classes. Read about it in this article: Reaching the Full Range.A correspondent writes, presumably in response to my lagging homework concept:I love your approach and a lot of the details. I guess my only immediate reservation would be the necessity for homework. A lot of U.S.… Continue reading Yet More on Homework
Time and Tide
This is my yearly report on the Asilomar conference of the California Math Council, Northern Section. Because I was presenting three times, I didn't end up attending as many sessions as I would have liked. As always at Asilomar, I enjoyed hanging out with my ex-colleagues, running into friends, and meeting the occasional fan of… Continue reading Time and Tide
Upcoming presentations
I have a bunch of presentations coming up. That will be your last chance to hear me for a while, as my NCTM San Antonio talk was rejected†. Who knows, maybe retirement will finally kick in!Online Webinar: Reaching the Full RangeAs everyone knows, students learn math at different rates. What should we do about it?… Continue reading Upcoming presentations
More Notes from NCTM Phoenix
See Part 1 of my notes from Phoenix: A Brief History of Math Education (NCTM President Matt Larson's presentation.)Here is Part 2.Growth Mindset: telling is not teachingIn his short session, Dylan Kane pointed out that talking about growth mindset may be helpful to students "in the middle". But there are students in our classes who… Continue reading More Notes from NCTM Phoenix
NCTM Phoenix notes: History of Math Education
I attended the NCTM regional meeting in Phoenix. Here are some notes. A Brief History of Math EducationNCTM President Matt Larson talked about the history of the math wars, which as it turns out started in the early 1800's. A previous version of his presentation can be found on his page on the NCTM site.… Continue reading NCTM Phoenix notes: History of Math Education
Reading Algebra
Symbol sense is an essential part of mathematical literacy. It is the understanding that undergirds effective symbol manipulation, and perhaps more basically the ability to interpret and create algebraic expressions. Symbol sense, like number sense and operation sense, is not learned so much through listening to a teacher. Rather, it grows as one gets practice… Continue reading Reading Algebra
Henri's Math Education Blog 