Maths with Miss Molly

“Mathematics is a very broad and multidimensional subject that requires reasoning, creativity, connection making, and interpretation of methods; it is a set of ideas that helps illuminate the world; and it is constantly changing.”

― Jo Boaler, Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching

 

A warm hello to you all from me, Molly Phair, the Math Coordinator at ABA. My specialty in mathematics didn’t happen right away. I was actually quite anxious about the subject because of the experiences I had as a learner. The quote above didn’t describe the learning experiences I had in school:

Math is creative? 

Math is constantly changing?

But isn’t there just one way to solve a problem? 

Isn’t my job as a student who is “doing math” to learn the steps and then complete them as instructed? 

It wasn’t until I learned about how our brains learn mathematics, practiced instructional routines that got students actually experiencing math, and began teaching the “why” and not just the “how” behind mathematical concepts, that I became completely passionate and committed to math teaching and learning. 

I have made it my mission to make sure all our students experience math in a way that is joyful, understandable, connected, and figure-out-able; to have a different experience than I did. I am so very inspired by the current way math is taught to our students here at ABA. No longer are they simply following procedures, rather,  students are told from their first experiences in FC that they are mathematicians; not doers of math, but thinkers, creators, and innovators.

Over the course of this first month  at school, students have started their year in math by learning about the brain science behind how we learn and retain mathematical concepts. These ideas include how our brain synapses fire and connect through mistakes and struggle; speed is not important, but slowing down and thinking deeply are; there is no such thing as a math brain, we all have the ability to learn and grow our math knowledge; and math is made up of a set of connected ideas and concepts that can be transferred across content areas. Teachers used a resource called “Inspirational Math” to curate math experiences to promote the mindsets outlined above. During these learning experiences, students make mistakes, feel the struggle, get confused, and then reflect on the idea that our synapses just fired, creating more pathways and connections in our brain. You’ll hear students yell out, “Oh, I made a mistake! My brain just grew!” or “I think I just made a connection!” 

Students are learning that part of our brain which helps us learn math is visual. This means students are using manipulatives, drawings, and models to explore their ideas, build numbers and patterns, and prove their thinking. One of my favorite moments in a third grade classroom this week was hearing a student’s reflection after being challenged to rename numbers flexibility. He said, “At first I was confused, but then I built the number with base 10 blocks and I could actually SEE it.” Wow! Students aren’t just waiting to be shown how to manipulate numbers, but they’re physically building and representing these ideas in ways that will make a solid foundation for their learning moving forward, and that is powerful.

This first month has been busy, impactful, and inspiring! These mindsets about math will shape your child’s attitude, opinion, and relationship with mathematics in a way that will take the fear out of math and replace it with perseverance and JOY! 

If you want to experience this kind of math with your child at home and help promote the mathematical mindsets described above, visit Youcubed.org/resource/youcubed-at-home/ for games, puzzles, and math challenges that are fun for the whole family! 

I’m looking forward to sharing more and more insights into the math learning your child is experiencing here in the Elementary School throughout this school year. If you have a question or a topic you’d like me to discuss in an upcoming edition, please submit it HERE! Also, please join me at our upcoming parent workshop on Tuesday, October 8th from 8:00-9:00am where you’ll get the opportunity to experience the kind of math learning your child is engaging in every day, as well as an overview of our main resource for mathematics: Concept-Based Inquiry Maths Project.

To a year full of struggle, experiences, and learning!

Ms Molly Phair