Focusonmath.wordpress.com Website Review

what is a student really saying when he or she says, “i hate math!”? to hear someone make the statement, “i hate math!” is, unfortunately, not uncommon. in fact, it is not restricted just to students, but parents, neighbours, and, yes, even educational colleagues say this, too. but what are people really saying with that declaration? for all my experience i believe that what they really are saying is “i don’t get math.” and of course, when folks do not “get math”, then they are generally not good at it, only increasing and solidifying their dislike. that means the onus is on those of us who teach math to do so in such a manner that allows learners to truly make sense of numbers. math is supposed to make sense for everyone! never allow the words to come out of your mouth, “you don’t have to understand this — just do it like this,”  while showing an algorithm that is meaningless to students. that is how the “not getting math” is perpetrated and we need to stop that now. if you want to stop the “i hate math” mentality, then you must teach math for understanding. don’t settle. calgary city teachers’ convention 2017 power up your problem solving. of the best ways to begin improving problem solving in your math clas* is simply this: just do it! of course. you can learn some techniques for making that problem solving time more of a success than it would otherwise be. you can teach students some strategies for thinking, and help them to use mathematical tools (which i think of as anything concrete or pictorial that helps students build conceptual understanding), but ultimately problem solving is a skill that students master by engaging in it regularly. linda gojak, past president of the nctm, talks about using “rich tasks” in math lessons, and she defines a rich task in this way: — a situation in which an appropriate path to a solution is not readily apparent — can be adapted to maintain high cognitive demand while meeting individual needs