Slow & Steady Can Win The Race: Math Post Week 3

©Arbor Investment Planner. 2016. Slow and Steady.

This week we started with an in class game called “I have... who has”. Each student is given a card with a number and then a math problem for another unknown person in the class. Every round students are having to read their card out while other students are doing the math problem to see if the answer matches the number they have on their card. This game got every student involved and could be a fun way to start a class. Something that I thought about during and after the game was, “would this work for all students?”. Personally, I felt very anxious during the game because I was scared to make a mistake in front of my classmates and look stupid. I would rather not be put on the spot with a math question because it makes me uncomfortable. I think that other students could feel the same way and so finding a way to alter the game so that students were not put on the spot could be a good idea.

This connects with the theme of making mistakes in math. How do we get students comfortable with making mistakes and getting them to understand it is part of brain growth? I am learning all about it in my class and yet I still struggle to overcome the fear and want to avoid being embarrassed. The video below explains the science behind how struggling creates brain growth and so making mistakes is critical to getting better. This could be a good video to show students so that they can understand the value of mistakes in math!

Another really important thing I learned this week is that speed is unrelated to being good at math. Doing something slowly doesn’t mean you’re not doing something well or right. In math, I always associated the kids who were finishing problems faster as the ones who were the smartest. However, in the video about Math & Speed it is explained that some of the best math mathematicians in the world have an extremely slow process in completely math problems because they are focused on deeper thinking. This is a relief because I am very slow at completely math problems which contributed to my belief that I was bad at math. When I watched the video I started thinking about other subjects and how I wouldn’t reward a student in Language who could write an essay the fastest. I would want to promote deeper thinking and ensure that a good process was followed. I need to make sure to do the same thing in math so that all students have an opportunity to demonstrate that they can complete a problem!

This takes me back to the game we did at the start of class. I don’t complete math problems quickly and that game relies on students thinking of the answer in their head and continuing the next round. For me, it doesn’t set me up for success because I need more time so although I see some value in the game at the start of class I’m not sure it would be one that I use in my classroom based on what I learned this week. It’s good to learn about different options in class and get to experience them as a student would. Those opportunities give me the chance to decide what I think would work best in my classroom and that will only make me a better teacher!

Creating Understanding: Math Post Week 2

©LonerWolfe 2016. True Colours. Retrieved from
 http://lonerwolf.com/true-colors-personality-test/

©LonerWolfe 2016. True Colours. Retrieved from
http://lonerwolf.com/true-colors-personality-test/

One of the first things we did in class this week was discuss a personality test called true colours. I had done this test this past summer at my job. I went back and did the test online once more to see if my results were the same and they were very similar. I was perfectly split between gold and green with a good amount of blue mixed in. Gold suggests I am committed, responsible, sensible and efficient while green says that I am powerful, rational, intellectual and objective. These all sound like attributes that would make a good math brain. Now I know that I needed to develop my brain to be better at math through practice. Personality tests don’t tell us the full story on someone but I do think it is a good place to start. I think it helps yourself and others understand reasons for why you are the way you are. The True Colours test also tells you what your roles are in a community and I think it really shows that everyone plays an important role in a group setting by bringing different strengths to the table. This is something I would like to do with my students. 

We also watched a video in class which I think really brings to light some of the challenges in math.

How Old Is The Shepherd is a video which shows a teacher giving students a math problem and asking them to find the answer. The trick here is that the math problem does not have the information that the students need to find the answer. Some students are able to establish that the necessary information is not provided therefore they cannot solve for the answer. Those students are demonstrating that they understand both the question and that they’re math strategies cannot be applied in this instance. Only a few students came to this conclusion while other students used math to find any number without considering what they were trying to solve for. Some students said the shepherd was 120 years old. If you critically thought about what the question was asking you would know that 120 is not a very realistic answer. It was clear that students felt the need to do a math equation regardless of what was being asked and what information was being provided. There was a lack of critical thinking skills and beyond that a true lack of understanding.

This video shows students doing math for the sake of doing math and not really considering what they are being asked to do. As an educator, this tells me I would need to work hard to ensure that my students are taking what we’re learning and applying it in real life. If students see the value in something they can adopt it beyond math class. The video was a perfect example of how students are using math to think more deeply. They are simply trying to put numbers together whether they make sense or not. This is yet another moment when I realize that my job as an educator is going to be very important and the way I approach certain subjects, such as math, will determine how successful my students can be!

Busting Math Myths: Math Post Week 1

©Iantresman. Common mathematical operators. 2012.

This week in Math the theme was myths and stereotypes that exist in the subject. As you can imagine, there was plenty of material to cover on this topic and the list of math myths is long but, one in particular stands out to me. I can notoriously be heard saying “I am not a math person!”. I would say it to excuse my poor math grades, my inability to solve certain problems and my tendency to shy away from anything math related. It has become easy to say math just isn’t my thing and that there are some people just born to be good at math. I could be heard joking that my parents failed to pass me any math genes but then I watched several videos this week on this common belief. Unfortunately for me, there is not such thing as a “math person”. There is no genetics involved and in fact, anybody can be good at math. My excuses is no longer valid because their is no science to support it. 

On one hand, this is a disappointing because I’ve been blaming my below average math marks on genetics but on the other hand, this means that I don’t have to stay bad at math! Math is challenging, and for many students, it can be intimidating. There is a right and a wrong answer which is different then a subject like English where you can prove your point using evidence that you shape. Getting a wrong answer can be a deflating feeling, especially when mistakes feel like failures. In the video The Brain Science on Growth Mindset we learn that mistakes are critical for developing the brain in math and that often students lack confidence in math. There is a direct correlation between building confidence in math with increasing success in the subject. When I listened to Jo Boaler speak about building confidence in math learners it made complete sense to me. I was a student who lacked confidence. Instead of working harder, making mistakes and getting better I shied away from the subject relying on my excuse.

The video You’re Not Bad At Math, You’re Just Lazy dives into the excuse of being bad at math and concludes that more exposure to math and more practice can make you better. The video addresses the fact that many people don’t like math because it can be a difficult subject but that doesn’t mean you have to be bad, it might just mean you’re too lazy to get better. This was definitely me as a student. I was content with staying average because making mistakes and admitting I was intimidated did not feel like an option. 

This week acted as a learning opportunity for me as a teacher. I can’t bring my negative attitude towards math into my classroom. I am going to have to work hard at feeling more confident in math. For my students, I am going to have to make it fun, interesting and discover a variety of strategies that students can use to solve math problems. My goal is to be the math teacher I wish I’d had as a student. I want my classroom to be a safe place for making mistakes, to bring the real world into the math class and to have an inquiry based approach so that my students are invested and interested.  There are so many opportunities to bridge the gap for those who don’t think they like math. Using my personal experience as a student who struggles will hopefully allow me to relate to my students and help them past the barriers they feel are in front of them in math.