Learning to Teach

There are a lot of ways to look at 24. In elementary school, students start to learn how to break down numbers in different ways. So then when they see 24, they may see 8*3 instead. Or maybe they see 12*2. Or maybe they see 6*4. 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24, then, are called factors of the number 24. While directly teaching students about factors can be effective, sometimes it's nice to hide a concept within a certain problem. So, although I have given a big hint by rambling about factoring, you shouldn't give your students the same hint. I also won't give you anymore hints either. Here is the light bulb problem, a problem that I think is a great exercise for students who are learning about factors. It is also a great exercise for older students who also know about factors. It's also a great exercise for adults who may or may not be math teachers and who may or may not be a few drinks in. Do what you want with it! Problem: Solution:

If you have children who are currently in school, homework time can be difficult. You may have struggled with math during school or you may be unfamiliar with the methods being used today, which can cause frustration for both you and your student as you struggle through the assignment. One teacher made a video explaining how she teaches two digit multiplication using an area model , and a lot of parents flipped. A common response was that this is a ridiculous waste of time. They learned a much easier and faster way when they were in school. I made a response video, which you can watch below, that explains the benefit of an area model as well as the damage that can be caused by invalidating different methods for solving problems. If you don't want to watch the whole video, here are the 4 main points I make at the end: 1. Do not invalidate certain ways of solving a problem. Rather, it could be a fun exercise to let your child solve the problem, then compare their method to how

Teacher burn out is a real issue. Many teachers do not survive past their third year, and even less make it past their fifth year. The most common advice that veteran teachers give to new teachers is to not bring work home. Set boundaries. Work is work and home is home. I believe there is a lot of merit to that advice. However, if we are going to stick to that, HOW in the world are we still assigning homework to students? We cannot say home is my space and I will not work there if we are expecting students to take work home. You know what? Stop. I don't want to hear about how you are only assigning 20 minutes a night. If students have six classes and all their teachers do that, that is still 2 hours of work per night. Are you working two extra hours per night? Do you expect all of your colleagues to work two extra hours per night? If the answer is no, then you can't give kids your 20 minute assignment. If the answer is yes, then maybe we need to look at that. Examining Work-