Creating An Effective Mathematical Environment.

 

We all struggle with creating an environment that helps students step out of the "I can't" mindset to the "I can". Every year we spend time setting up the classroom with the idea that students will want to do math but there are things we can do to make it more inviting and more effective. We know that the lesson itself is important but we as teachers have a lot of impact on student learning.

One of the most important things is to establish relationships with students and parents beginning on the first day with icebreakers in the class and sending letters home to parents or taking time to call the parents. Spend the first day getting to know your students if they are new and renewing relationships with students you've had.  In addition, use humor, tech, or questions to get on their level and share classroom rules via memes or snapchat or instagram. Remember you can set up class twitter, instagram, or facebook pages where you can share class happenings with parents. Don't be afraid to start from the beginning because students may not know how to take effective notes or know how to read a textbook when they come to you.  

Allow students the opportunity to weigh in on certain decisions such as how they'd like to see the room arranged.  About half my class like being spread out along the walls facing the center of the room while the other likes rows so my room looks crazy.  If you can, give them a chance to select the problems they want to do.  For instance, if the page has 32 problems, let them choose the 15 they want to do. It makes them feel as if they have some control and they feel more successful.

For instance, we can take the time to accept student ideas by allowing  students a chance to explain their solution and how they arrived at it.  Asking how they came up with the solution is often times friendlier than asking a student to explain their thinking because they don't connect finding a solution with thinking about it.  In addition, by recognizing their solutions and giving them a chance to share their thinking, students begin to develop confidence in themselves and their thinking. In addition, students gain a better understanding of the concept or topic

It is important to pose interesting questions that grab student curiosity so they want to find an answer.  It might be a question concerning two type of paint, one that covers in one coat and costs more while the other requires two coats but costs less, or perhaps it deals with the best deal on a cup of coffee.  These type of questions require students to rely on their own mathematical abilities and prior knowledge to answer.  These questions show students that math is found outside of the classroom.

Furthermore, take time to show students that mathematics are connected to other disciplines such as architecture, engineering, business, sports, etc so they see that math in the real world is not necessarily as neat as it is in the problems from the text book.  You might also take time to find literature with mathematical topics to read as a way of showing students, math is found in stories too.  By showing students that math is found in other disciplines, they begin to see that math is all around us and not just in the classroom.  

One of the last thing is to make sure students see math expressed in more than one way.  For instance, when teaching binomial multiplication, one should include more than just the FOIL method because not all students get the hang of it.  I show my students the FOIL method, the box method, the distributive method, the vertical method, and a picture.  When I teach factoring of trinomials, I use the standard diamond method, the reverse method and the reverse box method along with a picture so they can choose the method that works best for them.  

So open up lines of communications, give students a choice, show them how math relates to the world, and use multiple methods to create an effective classroom environment in math. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.