What does recent brain-based learning research tell us about how students learn math?
A lot actually...Over the past few years, the St. Timothy's School math department has been exploring this research, including research conducted by Carol Dweck on Growth Mindset and Jo Boaler on how to effectively teach math.
In Math 8 this year, I hope to bring this research into the classroom to help students better understand what it means to have a growth-mindset, and perhaps more importantly, to understand that mathematical thinking is not a fixed ability. As a teacher (and parent), one of the biggest takeaways of this research for me has been that our approach to teaching, praising, and correcting students can actually help them to be more resilient and successful in math (and life).
We will spend some time at the beginning of the year exploring these ideas. Students will be asked to commit to the pledge below:
To achieve a growth mindset, we commit to the following: 1. We will celebrate our mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow. 2. We will be confident and share our thinking. 3. We will persevere through difficult practice.