My 8th grader enjoys spending time with me in the mornings on our drive to school. Or maybe it isn't cool to take the bus and it is too far to walk, so he lets me take him... Anyway, this morning he said he doesn't want to be called on in algebra because "she flips out if you answer wrong." "Really? How do you know?"I asked. My son relayed a story familiar to many, of students working problems on the board and being belittled by an adult for working the problem incorrectly. His teacher told one child, "What are you doing? That's not how to work it." I'm not saying she yelled, because I wasn't there, but it was said loud enough for the entire class to hear. Enough to humiliate someone.
Are we really still doing this? Working problems on the board? Belittling children brave enough to stand in front of their peers and attempt to work out a problem? I thought that was gone. I thought teaching had advanced beyond humiliation as an incentive. With all of the advances in technology, isn't there a better way to teach and learn difficult concepts, like algebra, without embarrassing people?
With all of the focus on bully prevention, what training are teachers receiving about treating students as human beings with feelings. What if the teacher IS the bully?
So- what would you do differently? I mean, algebra is about working problems. How can it be taught differently?
I try to make lessons as relevant as possible to the learner. So, for a group of 11-13 year olds, I would use a few simple topics- sports, video games, text messages, and parties. Instead of a bunch of equations solving for "x," I would generate real life problems the students could relate to. For example, use a popular baseball players batting average. If this player continues at his current rate of .245, how many of his next 50 at bats does he need to get a hit? Have the students write out what the problem is. Have them share their thinking. Model by using "self talk" to demonstrate how to set up the problem. ( There is more than one correct way.) Then I would give time for the students to solve the problem on their own. Then, I would solve it my way, and ask if anyone else solved the problem in a different way. If someone did, I would have them demonstrate how they found the answer, having them talk through the problem while writing on the board.
Making abstract concepts like algebra as relatable as possible increases interest. Being interested in finding an answer is half the battle. There are several apps for algebra, such as
dragonbox. The e-learning industry provides a list of 15 free
algebra apps here. There are several websites as well, like
purplemath.com.
How do/would you teach algebra?
