Mathematically Speaking

by Roger Alcock, Lake County Think Math Trainer

“Oh no! I didn’t inherit the math gene!!”

“That’s all right; your parents didn’t do well in math, so you aren’t expected to either.”

Hmmmm….It seems that President Obama’s call for an emphasis on math and science faces an uphill climb. The culture of mathematics in the United States needs assistance. Even in a recent Ford truck commercial, the “down home” spokesman asked someone who appeared to be studying what he was working on, and then stated: “Oh no! Looks like math! I’m out of here!” Is there any hope for improving math in America? Of course! Never fear, teachers of math are here!

A program called Thinking Math was developed by the American Federation of Teachers in the 1980’s and has been a positive influence for math teachers from that time on. I originally started working with Thinking Math in the early 1990’s and wished that I had known the concepts when I first started teaching math in 1966. I would have been a better math teacher, and my students would have been much more successful in their studies. The basic tenets of Thinking Math are the “Ten Principles”. As you become familiar with the “Ten Principles” you will realize that you already use many of the concepts.

Once you realize that the principles are research based and time tested, you will consciously employ them on a more regular basis--- I did, and my students benefited. With the help of Thinking Math our children will improve their math skills, learn to enjoy math, and extend their math concepts and mathematical reasoning into their everyday life.

You may have come across the following chart in your academic pursuits. I obtained a copy from the “Literacy First Process, Professional Development Institute.”

Meta-cognition

Many teachers, myself included, have been at the “unconsciously competent” level. We work well with our students, we are successful teachers, but we don’t know why they are successful. (Depending on the subject matter, I have been at all of the levels on this chart!)

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