Too many adults (yes, even teachers) lack confidence in their own mathematical abilities. Math fear hinders their ability to support and encourage children, even at the elementary-school level.
Here is what you can expect to find on this blog.
1. For Parents and Caregivers
For those with children, I hope this blog helps you evolve from a math-panicked parent to a math-positive parent. While it won’t make you an instant math whiz, this blog will set you on the path to a math-positive mindset.
A math-positive parent keeps any lurking personal math anxiety in check.
Math-positive parents speak positively about math. They help children work hard to understand math and support effort, not just grades.
A math-positive parent creates an encouraging homework environment.
Armed with persistence and patience, a math-positive parent provides help as appropriate.
A math-positive parent may even feel safe saying that they learn alongside their child.
2. For Teachers
Teachers, this blog offers activities, lesson ideas, and resources that will support your math-positive classroom culture.
Carefully selected math tasks can produce the “just right challenge” that pushes students beyond their comfort zones into the space where productive struggle generates deep learning.
Too often, teachers with a fixed mindset about math mollify children by patting them on the head and saying, “Don’t worry, sweetie. I was never really good at math either.” Or, “You’re really more of a language arts person.”
Don’t give children permission to dislike, fear, or avoid math. Rather, they will love, appreciate, and excel at math when they have the opportunity to feed off your math enthusiasm.
The teaching tips offered on this blog help teachers replace fixed-mindset missives with math-positive prompts, pose challenging problems that push students to show persistence, and give practical advice on how to help students learn from their mistakes.
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WHAT you think about math affects HOW you learn math! With a math-positive mindset, you'll learn to engage with mistakes, embrace struggle, and persevere when the going gets tough. This channel is for TEACHERS, PARENTS, and KIDS who are ready to stop dreading math and start loving it!