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My top 8 list for 2017-2018…
At the start of each year I try to set some goals (and reflect on things that worked well the previous years). I thought I’d share them here.
 Math class seating chart
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Code your seating chart.
My laminated seating chart has all kind of information about each student – especially learning needs. See this article for more about this.
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Try something new.
This year I’m going to do a lot more with our new edulastic.com web service. It’s going to allow us to quickly create small assessments (such as a 3 question exit ticket) to get better and instant feedback as to where the class is. Try using desmos for graphing or perhaps socrative for getting quick feedback. Don’t simply do the same thing as last year – it’s an easy rut to fall into. Continue reading
 Even Chloe knows to go to infinitemathideas.com for Math help! Welcome Chloe fans! I want to throw Chloe a bone (literally) for providing the first external link to our Math blog! Although she has thousands of subscratchers and this blog only has 12 (counting my mother…), we feel it’s a fair exchange. Here is the email exchange that started Chloe’s love of math! Chloe fans who have children in school may want to read this article.
So on the topics of old tricks for new dogs, I want to talk about a better (in my opinion) way to teach (and learn) logs (think really large sticks Chloe…). Specifically converting to and from exponential forms.
Bacon and Eggs go Vegan.
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In my 18 years of teaching, I often look back at how I taught then and how different a teacher I am now. Getting better feedback from students has been the biggest game changer for me. One of the first things I warn new teachers that I mentor about it the trap of gauging feedback by watching nodding heads. It’s very easy to say things like “does anyone have any questions?” and assume that silence and shaking heads means they got it.
In this article I’d like to share some very concrete practices (above and beyond the traditional) that were game changers for me. I’d love to hear more ideas from other teachers. Continue reading
I had 3 of my own children go through the public school system in my town. Great schools overall. But two things drove me absolutely crazy about their Math education.
Two things that drove me crazy when I was a parent who had kids in high school.
- Students were not allowed to keep their tests. As a math teacher this was particularly frustrating because I so wanted to go over my child’s test with them to see what kind of mistakes they were making. I also wanted to help them go over the problems they got wrong. If parents ask me what was most important thing they could do with their child to help them with math, I would say it was to go over their mistakes with them (or have a teacher/tutor do it) so they can learn from their mistakes. I often assign test corrections (for big tests) as an extra assignment because it is so critical to do this for a subject like math that builds upon prior knowledge.
- My children’s Geometry teacher (we had the same teacher for 2 of my children) was sloppy about her Geometry notation. I diligently prepped my children how to properly write line segment names, angle names, congruency statements, etc. when they started Geometry. But when I reviewed her worksheets, handouts, and notes that they brought home – she was inconsistent with notations. Math is difficult enough to begin with. If you are sloppy about how you write things for students, it makes it that much more difficult for them to follow. You are teaching them to speak a language called Math.
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I work with a lot of students after school, many of who are struggling. I always say it’s the best place to learn about issues students are having. Students are more open to discussing their frustrations and you can watch a particular student work for much longer periods of time. I hear this from students (and parents) all the time: “My son seemed to understand it even when I went over the problems with him but he gets it wrong on the test. I can’t understand it”. So what is going on?
One of the first things I learned years ago is that students learn to solve problems by (smartly) recognizing patterns. It’s tough at his age to have a real desire to understand “why something works the way it does” (I didn’t have it at 15 years old). But the problem with pattern learning is that it falls apart as soon as a problem looks a little different.
Example of common mistakes with distributive property
Let me give my first example that I see very frequently that involves the distributive property (of multiplication).
On the left is how students are typically are shown how to distribute. All of the problems they practice look like this so they learn to distribute whenever they see a number next to a parenthesis – without a thought as to why they should do it. But when they number appears on the right side of the parenthesis, they don’t know what to do (even though it is still multiplication and the 2 should be distributed).
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 Math class seating chart with markups about each student. One of the first tips I give new teachers I mentor is to create a seating chart for all of your classes. The next tip is to get new ink for your printer because you’ll be printing new versions often! On day 1 of classes, my students walk in and the seating chart is on the Smartboard with their names on a desk. Here is what I use my seating chart for:
- To learn student names quickly.
- To know at a glance who has a low average (so I can call on them or visit their desks more often).
- To be able to identify relevant special learning accommodations such as who struggles with attention disorders or who needs written instruction over verbal.
Here is a (fictitious) sample of one of my seating charts. I slip it into a plastic protective cover and carry it around with me during class. Note I do not actually write the key I included here (it is in my head). Here is how organize my codes: Continue reading
Does your child ever say to you “I’m just not good at math”?
Does this sound familiar to you? Your child in high school cannot seem to get higher than an 80 (or low C) average in a non-honors level Math class. You feel like he/she is trying but get frustrated easily and they often give up quickly. They might get “careless mistake” comments on assessments. They tell you they hate math class. You might feel that the teacher can’t connect or reach your child. Your child will tell you they don’t like the teacher’s style and they can’t understand how they present information on the board. They do well or average in other subjects except math (and perhaps Science). You may have even tried private tutors. The tutor will tell you they seem to understand what they went over but they still get poor grades on assessments. Continue reading
 Desmos graph pasted into Smart Notebook. No way my handwriting is that neat! If you use a smart board and you graph/discuss functions as much as I do, I think you’ll love this tip. Even some of the veteran teachers in my dept. loved this and didn’t know how easy it was.
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I give this substitution problem every year in my summer Algebra I refresher class. The mistake they almost all make, is a classic PEMDAS problem. So I teach order of operations rather strictly as illustrated in the example below. Here are 2 things essential things I teach them:
- Do only ONE level per line (M/D and A/S are the same level). Put the letter(s) you are doing next to each line.
- Do NOT drop parenthesis until the M/D line (i.e. leave them in the
Here is a typical PEMDAS mistake students make:
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 Matter and anti-matter cancels out (violently I might add). The airlines can cancel your flight. You can’t cancel out in Math (instead you “reduce” or “divide”). If you do try to cancel out, bad things can happen. Let me explain.
Our Department abolished the phrase “Cancels out” a long time ago, and now we use phrases such as “reduces to 1“, “divides to 1 over 1“, etc. which demonstrates the math operation not some magic. We also always replace numbers and variables that reduce with a number even if it’s one (see below right).
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Welcome! My name is Scott Campbell and I am a High School Math teacher. Welcome to my math blog. Find out moreIt’s all Free! Please copy and use anything you find on this blog with your classes.
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