math education

The First Week of School

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The first week of school is in the books. Thus begins the season of the year in which I am continually challenged to consider how my faith applies to my teaching, yet I am also continually too busy to process those considerations in a formal way here on this site. Oh well. I will be trying my best to post on a regular basis. In the meantime, if you have thoughts of your own you would like to share please check out the contributing authors section.

I thought I would use this post to share some ways in which I try to get students thinking about the deep meanings of mathematics and to possibly consider the broader philosophical/spiritual pursuits that underlay the subject. Teaching in a public school setting I am somewhat limited in my ability to openly preach my spiritual convictions and the way they illuminate my understanding of mathematics. However, I have tried to be creative in my assignments and room decor, just to get people thinking…

Saying from Plato's Academy: Let no one ignorant of geometry enter here. In this context Geometry is not being used as a subject, but rather as a way of thinking: an appreciation for reasoning and logic.
Truth is worth pursuing. Accompanied by posters of historic moments in mathematics.
The language of mathematics is written everywhere. My goal is to have this wall filled with examples of student-found mathematics by the end of the semester.

Free Resources

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As the school year is fixin to (there’s a nice Texas phrase for y’all) begin anew. In this age of information there are some really great instructional resources available for free online. After researching, I have resolved to make extensive use of three such resources in my classroom this year. Feel free (get it?) to try them out on your own and see what you think and if each might work for you in your classroom. All of these are quality products, plus, you can’t go wrong with free.

  • Microsoft Math 4.0 – Provides a graphing calculator that plots in 2D and 3D, and step-by-step equation solving.
  • Geogebra – A geometry package providing for both graphical and algebraic input.
  • R – A language and environment for statistical computing and graphics.

The Art of Teaching

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If you read my previous post, then you know that one of the problems with math education today (if not THE problem) is that people just don’t treat mathematics as an art form. Not only is mathematics a form of art, but so is teaching. Sadly, it seems that more and more steps are being taken to standardize curriculum and teaching methods.

Here are some great thoughts from the awesomely named blog Mathy McMatherson on the art of teaching:

Teaching is my favorite form of artistic creation, on par with the more traditional forms of art such as painting, poetry, or musical composition. These artists start with a blank canvas, an empty page, or dead air – we start with an open mind. We leave our impressions on our students with the lessons we conduct and the structure of our classroom – we carve out a space for learning and growth and, in the process, plant the seeds of knowledge, confidence, and leadership in our students.