“The only way to learn math is to do math.” Paul Halmos. I think this quote resonates with all math teachers, and encompasses our daily struggle of getting kids to “do” math. But what does it mean to “do” math??
I had the ability to attend the NCTM conference in San Francisco this week. I hoped to get some new idea’s on lessons that would get my students to “do” math more effectively. I have taught using a very traditional structure of direct instruction, guided practice, and independent practice. I feel that I had been doing a good job of instructing them on the mathematics, but I was really struggling with getting them to “do” the math and retain it. I figured I would come back with a few new “fun” lessons and suddenly they would be excited to “do” the math.
Well my take back from this conference was exponentially more than that. My mind was blown! I feel inspired, motivated and eager to completely revamp my classroom and its climate. My focus after the first day became focus not on what activities I could bring back, but what practices and strategies should I be using to engage and motivate my students.
My curiosity was triggered with a 3 act math session, when you use media to capture attention and they promote student thinking and conversation. The idea that students should be driving the conversation with each other was a constant theme throughout the conference. This spiraling theme to do less, promote conversation, don't give or focus on answers, but let the kids talk, debate, and prove their perspective. The simple idea that there are multiple perspectives, and even multiple “right” answers, YES, even in math!
The final push to make a drastic change came during a slam session where each presenter gave a call to action. And I am running with these ideas. I want to be a classroom that encourages students to love and crave talking about math, to be problem solvers and critical thinkers.
Now that I've returned, I'm running with these themes, and for the rest of this year, I will strive to integrate these ideas and conversation into my classroom. As I try something I'll blog and share the change, good, bad and ugly and hope to grow from it.
