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I really hope my son’s future teacher assigns him lots of worksheets, Part 2
Since I last blogged about my son’s very normal obsession with technology, this happened: [Zoodle Pad app for iPad and iPhone] This was my son’s first experience with an iPad. He immediately began...
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Inquiry-Based instruction, in a PNG-nutshell
In talking to math teachers about an Inquiry- , Project- , or Problem-Based approach, these are the following questions that come up most often. 1) “How am I supposed to cover all the standards using...
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An oversimplified model of an inquiry-based lesson, with visual aids
Last week, I mentioned that, having begun to attempt to slay one of the two giants of inquiry-based math instruction, I’d be steering into a potentially trickier aspect of inquiry based instruction:...
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Inquiry-based mathematics: the posing of a problem is only the beginning of...
We’ve been exploring some of the steps to an inquiry-based lesson in mathematics recently. In the last post, I tossed out a few .png images and laid out a few general steps in preparation for actually...
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What I learned in 2011
Two Thousand Eleven was a whirlwind of a year. A year ago at this time I thought I was headed to CU-Boulder to begin a PhD. A couple weeks later, a friend let me know about a job as a Math Coach for...
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“Isn’t Problem Based Learning easier than Project Based Learning?” and 10...
About a year ago, I started advocating and pushing towards a Problem Based approach in mathematics, as opposed to a solely Project Based approach, which many/most of my peers currently employ. But...
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We must get rid of Algebra because Roger C. Schank can’t behave at parties,...
When Andrew Hacker wrote his “Is Algebra Necessary” article I was basically like But at least it was well written and brought up some good points about math instruction, many of which math instructors...
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The Problems have become self-aware: Introducing the Skynet line.
I had a great twitter conversation tonight with a bunch of people about the topic of “authenticity.” That is, what’s the relationship between pure mathematical investigations (like, say, this one – a...
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The Struggle for Productive Struggle
This NPR radio spot confirms much of what we already know about struggle. There’s so much good stuff in this report, I’d encourage you to go listen to it or read it. Here are a couple nuggets I found...
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Inheriting the wind; these are two of my favorite books about math
Baseball Prospectus I never liked baseball as a kid. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t any good at it. Maybe it’s cause I never went to a professional game. Maybe it’s because it is quite boring when you...
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When to scaffold, if at all
It’s been a while since I’ve revisited the Taxonomy of Problems I threw together a while back, but I think it’ll be helpful to spend some time there when considering the following Most-Wanted question...
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Getting Better: I can improve anything for students, but I can’t improve that
I can get better at almost everything. You can get better at your practice, regardless of your teaching style. I know I often come across as dogmatic with regards to Figure 1 Problem-Based Learning...
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Critiquing the Common Core on its Merits and Demerits
Criticism of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has sadly devolved into theater, when it and schools would benefit from critical analysis. CCSS criticism is all-too-often hyperbolic while CCSS...
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Is bad context worse than no context?
In elementary classes we consider it a good thing to be able to move from the abstract to the concrete. We ask students to count and perform arithmetic on objects, even contrived ones. We ask students...
View ArticleInquiry-based mathematics: the posing of a problem is only the beginning of...
We've been exploring some of the steps to an inquiry-based lesson in mathematics recently. In the last post, I tossed out a few .png images and laid out a few general steps in preparation for actually...
View ArticleA Premature Address to the Teaching Class of 2024 and 2025
I’ll be teaching a course for future elementary teachers this Fall (2021) at the University of Wyoming. It’s a freshman course, so most students will be coming off of their high school experience from...
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