BubbleUp Classroom
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Presentations >
      • Empower17
      • Thesis ALIVE!
  • READ
    • What's the Scoop? >
      • Landmark Supreme Court Cases
    • Reading an Artifact
    • Reading an Image
    • Emoji Notes
    • Sketchnotes
    • Sharing Books with Kids
  • WRITE
    • Thesis & Essay Writing >
      • Thesis Writing Workshop
      • Fairy Tale Grab Bags
      • Essay Roadmap
      • Essay Outline Generator
      • Other Thesis Ideas
    • What's the Scoop? >
      • Landmark Supreme Court Cases
    • Poetry Beyond English Class
  • CREATE
    • Think, Build, Tweet
    • Sketchnotes
    • Ordinary Objects
    • Think Outside the Box
    • Poetry Beyond English Class
  • WORK WITH US
    • Testimonials

BubbleUp Take5: Helping Kids Excel in Math (or at least not to hate it)

8/14/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
In last week's post Gretchen shared ideas about how to help foster reading at home. The experience in my home dovetails nicely with her focus on reading. My kid loves to read, but math is not her thing. She's good at it, but she'd rather spend time writing stories or reading. I was the same way. That doesn't bother me or really concern me as a parent.

​What is troublesome is the negative talk that has crept slowly into our home. She declares "I hate math" or "I'm not good at math." I've done all the things the experts have told me to do: Talk about how much I love math. Focus on finding math in every day life (I could do better at that). Talk about how I'm good at math and she's good at math. But it isn't working. So I've done a dive into ideas for help. So here's a Take 5 with a math focus for teachers and parents alike. It's messy. Just as with real math, there is not just one method to answer the problem; but the more you know, hopefully the more you can help your own kid or the kids in your classroom.

​This piece entitled Make Your Daughter Practice Math She'll Thank you Later, by engineer, Barbara Oakley, should be read by every educator. And if you are a parent, you should read it, right now. It's an interesting perspective and my favorite education article of 2018. It speaks to me as a teacher, as a mother, and as a girl who remembers these exact same feelings. I read it aloud to my own kid. She didn't like what it said (because she said it didn't solve her problems)-- but when we practice math, she'll know why.
'Not a Math Person':  How to Remove Obstacles to Learning Math argues against rote memorization, offering an opposing view to that of Barbara Oakley. I am not sure I agree with the author on all counts (I believe math facts matter), but I value the article nonetheless. The take away for me, speed in math isn't indicative of math ability and yet that's the message we send kids constantly in classrooms (and often at home).
In To Up Students' Math Ability, Try Working on their Teachers' Growth Mindset,  Sarah Schwartz examines the connection between teacher beliefs and practices and student performance. The same must be true for parents. If you are a parent and don't know growth mindset, you should and teachers, we need to share growth mindset with parents. Because GenXers weren't raised on that. Believe me.
This is why it's so hard to help with your kids math homework explores the frustration that many parents now experience when trying to help their kids complete math assignments at home. I'll own it. I am one of them! 
In the Atlantic's Math Class Paradox, by Jo Boaler, talks about the need to give kids more open ended math problems to solve, using classroom time to focus on process. My thought, when providing practice at home, why not do the same?  You can visit her website, YouCubed, where there are lots of resources, many of them free. 
What strategies do you use to help your student or students feel confident and excited about math? 

​-Corey

You might also like:

  • Library + Math = The Perfect Equation (June 5, 2018)
  • BubbleUp Take5:  Problem Solving, Morale, Writing Feedback, Math + Google, and yes, a Personality Quiz (October 3, 2017)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Who We Are

    Picture
    Corey Thornblad
    Teacher 
    Picture
    Picture
    Gretchen Hazlin
    ​Librarian
    Picture

    Picture

    Join our list!



    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Adminstrators
    Assessments
    Back To School
    Balance
    Best Practices
    Books
    Brain Breaks
    BreakoutEDU
    #bubbleupthx
    Cell Phones
    Civic Engagenemt
    Classroom Design
    Classroom Management
    Coding
    Collaboration
    Community
    CREATE
    Critical Thinking
    Curation
    Design Thinking
    Discipline
    Discussion
    Distance Learning
    Edcamp
    Equity
    Field Trips
    Flexible Seating
    Flipped Classroom
    Genrefication
    Gifted
    Gifts
    Google
    Grading
    Gratitude
    Growth Mindset
    History
    Homework
    How-to
    Images
    Inquiry
    Interview
    Joy
    Kindness
    Leadership
    Librarians
    Library
    Literacy
    Makerspace
    Math
    Mental Health
    Middle School
    Mindfulness
    Movement
    New Librarians
    New Teachers
    Orientation
    Parenting
    Pbl
    Physical Space
    Pln
    Podcasts
    Poetry
    Primary Sources
    Problem Solving
    Professional Development
    Project Based Learning
    Questioning
    READ
    Reflection
    Relationships
    Research
    Rubrics
    Simulation
    Sketchnotes
    Social Emotional Health
    Social Emotional Learning
    Social Studies
    Stations
    Student Centered Learning
    Student-centered Learning
    Study Skills
    Summer
    Take10
    Take5
    Teacher Appreciation Week
    Technology
    Teens
    Testing
    Twitter
    WRITE

    RSS Feed


Proudly powered by Weebly
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Presentations >
      • Empower17
      • Thesis ALIVE!
  • READ
    • What's the Scoop? >
      • Landmark Supreme Court Cases
    • Reading an Artifact
    • Reading an Image
    • Emoji Notes
    • Sketchnotes
    • Sharing Books with Kids
  • WRITE
    • Thesis & Essay Writing >
      • Thesis Writing Workshop
      • Fairy Tale Grab Bags
      • Essay Roadmap
      • Essay Outline Generator
      • Other Thesis Ideas
    • What's the Scoop? >
      • Landmark Supreme Court Cases
    • Poetry Beyond English Class
  • CREATE
    • Think, Build, Tweet
    • Sketchnotes
    • Ordinary Objects
    • Think Outside the Box
    • Poetry Beyond English Class
  • WORK WITH US
    • Testimonials