Learning from Student Writing in Math Class
by November 05th, 2018
In my early years teaching mathematics, I taught students to compare fractions the way I had learned as an elementary student—convert the fractions so they all have common denominators. However, in my more recent teaching of fractions, I do not teach one method. Instead, I prod students to think, reason, and make sense of comparing…
Developing Multiplication Strategies
by June 02nd, 2017
Once students have mastered addition and subtraction, they get to move on to bigger equations: multiplication. Many adults recall days spent memorizing tables and writing out their work, but you can take an approach that doesn’t require merely committing numbers to memory. Help your students really understand what multiplication is and how it works by…
Race to 200: A Game Focused on Student Computation & Strategy
by April 13th, 2017
How do you combine computation skills and a game in the same setting? The game Race to 200 helps students, and their partners, build their understanding of number computation, number sense, and place value. This game can be played during one class period, but we recommend trying all three versions, over three periods, so students can…
Teacher Mindsets and Student Learning
by March 16th, 2017
On the first day of my Mathematics Methods course for preservice teachers, I ask my students to solve the Dealing in Horses Problem from Marilyn Burns’ book About Teaching Mathematics, Fourth Edition: I ask my students to consider the problem individually for a few minutes and then discuss and solve the problem in table groups. I…
The Pizza Problem
by February 10th, 2017
The Pizza Problem is a great way to apply mathematical information in a real-world context. Challenge your seventh and eighth graders to apply their understanding of area and order of operations with the pricing of pizza. When teaching a unit on the area of circles, I asked a class of seventh- and eighth-grade students to investigate…
