Opportunities for reasoning matter. Students need math to be more than a race to find answers to other people’s questions. How to create those opportunities? We worked with Dan Meyer and the team at Desmos to develop activities for students to learn how graphs work. You can check out the activities here. Great activities are …
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To open opportunities for students’ math reasoning, change the questions. Instead of What iS? Ask What iF? The questions look similar. Yet they imply very different responses. What iS? “Give an answer” What iF? “Consider the possibilities” Too often, students experience math as a pursuit of “What iS?” rather than an exploration of “What iF?“ …
Students have many opportunities to use different types of representations to show the same relationship between variables (e.g., graphs, tables, equations). Students also benefit from opportunities to use different forms of the same type of representation (two different looking graphs) to show the same relationship between variables. Wonder how that can be? Check out this …
I have been thinking hard about how students make sense of graphs. In my April 17 Global Math Department webinar, we’ll explore ways to help students see #HowGraphsWork I hope many are able to join us. In case you aren’t able to make it, or if you would like to access resources after the webinar, …
Ask yourself these questions: How often do you write? How long is your typical writing session? What counts as “writing”? Had you asked me these questions earlier in my career, I probably would have responded: (1) Not often enough, (2) A few hours, (3) Work on a paper. Keeping track of my writing progress A …
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2018 began with news articles about varying increases: U.S. Private Payrolls Growth Accelerates; Jobless Claims Up UK Productivity Growth Hits Six-Year High After Weakest Decade Since 1820s Euro Zone Factory Growth Surges to Record; More Uneven in Asia What kinds of opportunities help students to make sense of accelerating growth? In our recent research article, …
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In math classes, students work with graphs. A LOT. Yet, what do students think graphs are? Why might students sketch or use graphs? A powerful way for students to think about graphs: As relationships between “things” that can change Together with Dan Meyer and the team at Desmos, I developed activities, “Techtivities” to provide students …
Leisure is not an enemy of productivity. “Half-working” is. How do you keep your working time productive? I actively schedule “non-working” days and evenings. Planning for real breaks helps me to stave off “half-working.”#academiclife https://t.co/YQjvBvNGX1 — Heather Johnson (@HthrLynnJ) December 3, 2017 By “half-working,” I mean time spent, typically at my computer, when I’m neither …
How do we determine when we are “ready enough” to share our voice with others? Thank you for that confidence. I think I’m finally to a point where I realize I have a voice that’s important and value to share, but I just — Casey McTeach (@cmmteach) August 1, 2017 When do we think we have an idea …
Making time for leisure strengthens my scholarship. Leisure time is not a luxury, it is a necessity.#academiclife #PhD — Heather Johnson (@HthrLynnJ) March 17, 2017 This week I revisited an advice column, Workload Survival Guide for Academics, which I came across last year. Professor Andrew Oswald identified a price that comes along with the privilege of being …
Read more “I study students’ mathematical reasoning, and I take real breaks.”