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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Making Math Children Will Love

Making Math Children Will Love:  Building Positive Mathitudes to Improve Student Achievement in Mathematics

Loving the Math!

“Instead of trying to make children love the math they hate, make a math they’ll love.”

Seymour Papert


Make no mistake...math is math.  However, our individual approach to teaching math is sometimes not math.  I think this is what Seymour Papert means with the above quote.  The curriculum is something we all share but how we 'bring it to life' is very much up to the individual.  

"We know that learning often begins with play." 

Experiential learning via curiosity is at the core of student engagement. Kids do this naturally with their play every day. In 'bringing the curriculum to life' it is the talented teacher who can do this with all students each and every day. Initially this might seem a relatively easy task, however, once you begin to immerse yourself you will find the opposite true. The good news is that it does become easier as you begin to practice and change the way you think about planning/organizing your math program. 

Have Fun with Math! ...

“... games and play have more positive effect on motivation and retention of knowledge than conventional instruction.”

Jonnavitula and Kinshuk


The key to planning/organizing is simply to 'have fun with math' as Jonnavitula & Kinshuk stated. One way to approach this is through 'macro' (yearly/monthly) planning.  Macro planning allows for 'big picture' planning.  You are able to set the pace, monitor the pace and thus effectively 'drive' the curriculum road. This 'drive' allows for periodic stops/breaks to delve deeper into the natural student inquiry as it arises without the pressure of feeling the need to 'plow' through textbook pages.  

Another key to capturing that natural curiosity is to utilized innovative ways to engage.  In today age of technology this is a relatively easy undertaking.  The hardest part would be to choose from the vast possibilities (e.g.. educational TV, Youtube, vivid texts, the internet, etc…).  

The Prime Radicals Shows

The Prime Radicals Pentomino App
(from App Store)

Mathemagic: Number Tricks


Furthermore, kids need to be 'freed' of the responsibility of the 'right answer'.  The mathematical process (or how we get there) matters more than whether or not they produce the correct answer.  It is the 'thinking' that needs the praise.  Thus, designing activities that allow this to occur is key.  Present a problem to solve (i.e. Dan Meyer style) and then let them spend time working through it.  

"Before children can learn mathematics, they must become interested in it."

Overall, I believe making math 'come to life' is a realistic expectation for all classrooms.  It requires a hard-working, caring and nurturing adult to plan, organize, preserve and provide an environment to allow students to be 'free' to take risks, inquiry and solve open-ended mathematical problems.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Voice Comment App

This App was highlighted at a Conference I recently attended.  Using Kaizena to provide Voice 'descriptive feedback' has opened a whole new world.  Students submit their work via Google Drive and you open and provide that rich descriptive feedback based on the success criteria that you and your students developed around your learning goal.  Check it out....

Professional Self Reflection

Recently this blog post was shared with me.  I find it very timely as we just completed Term 1 with a 'Celebration of Learning' (i.e. Student Led Conferences).  At our next Divisional Meetings I would like to take some time to debrief and discuss the 'next steps' with respect to Assessment & Evaluation.  Assessment & Evaluation is key to what we do each day as the expression goes, "Assessment drives Instruction".

This blog post really hits home for me.  As professionals, we have a responsibility to our students (and ourselves) to continue to remain 'current' in our practice.  To continuously self-reflect and hone our practice based on the most current research.  Take some time to see if your 'heart is visible' in your classroom.

http://christopherlehman.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve-and-walls-and-actions-and/