by Elevated Math We might not understand all that Einstein discovered, but from the things he has said we can glean some of his thought process and perhaps use that to instruct our students in math. “It’s better to be amazed than to understand,” he once said. I wondered if he meant. Do we stress […]
What Albert Einstein Can Teach Us? Read More »
We hear students say, “I’m not good at math” or “Math isn’t my thing”, especially after receiving a bad test score. These comments are likely subtle signs they are afraid of math. If so, we need to pull the student aside and ask questions that might help shed light on what they are thinking. Are
Healing Math Phobia Read More »
Articles abound on how traditional teaching methods deny students the chance to learn from their mistakes. But in this pandemic, when teachers are forced to engage in remote learning, they are more than ever scrutinized by parents and staff. Under so much pressure, teachers won’t dare try something new and risk making a mistake. A
Don’t Be Afraid of Making a Mistake. Flip Your Classroom. Read More »
Math students who begin their math journey into absolute value usually evaluate expressions with absolute value as “always positive.” That is, until they encounter the absolute value of zero, and then their answers become “always positive or zero.” The formal definition of absolute value is |x| = x if x ≥ 0 or –x if
Absolute Value: The Elevated Math Approach Read More »
Photography by Ta-Duc Updated September 9, 2020 When I ran for school board, one question was asked a number of times, usually by students. “How would I provide more teacher/student interactions?” I assumed the students wanted a more personal experience in their learning until a BBC News article made me realize that this question might
Building Confidence In Math Class Read More »
Herein contain requirements for instructors (including parents) to teach math to their students with the Elevated Math program. First Requirement Instructors should read the Teacher Notes before playing the lesson, and explain the “Get Started” ideas to the student. Elevated Math provides all the tools for teaching two years of math, pre-algebra and algebra. To use
WARNING: DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO ELEVATEDMATH.COM BEFORE READING THIS Read More »
Updated – August 30, 2020 An article in The Atlantic entitled “Letter Grades Deserve an F” by Jessica Lahey struck a cord and inspired this post. Ms. Lahey writes, “points-based grading undermines learning and creativity, rewards cheating, damages students’ peer relationships and trust in their teachers, encourages students to avoid challenging work, and teaches students to value grades over knowledge.”
WHY I ALWAYS HATED THE “B” GRADE Read More »
Updated – August 29, 2020 I came across a Wall Street Journal article with the headline that read, “Wandering Mind Heads Straight Toward Insight,” and the sub headline read, “Researchers Map the Anatomy of the Brain’s Breakthrough Moments and Reveal the Payoff of Daydreaming.” Here’s the question we need to ask: Are we giving students
DAYDREAMING IS GOOD Read More »
After I was elected on the school board, a principal introduced me to a middle school math teacher whose students had averaged 98% advanced or proficiency in Algebra 1 over the past three years. “Wow! How did you do that?” I exclaimed. “Is there something special in your teaching technique?” Obviously, this teacher knew her
A KEY TO EFFECTIVE TEACHING: OBSERVATION Read More »
Thomas Edison – “too stupid to learn anything” Updated August 15, 2020 Finding a right answer is sometimes not that important. More important is learning to approach a problem correctly, to study a mathematic question from different angles and to resist the urge to give up. This is best taught in middle school. In grades
TEACHING CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT WITH MATH CLASS Read More »
