by MathPickle | Nov 18, 2024 | Teaching Technique Discussion
My typical lesson involves students gathered in front of the class for the first 15 minutes as I focus on engagement and rules. Then, it is time for students to pair up—but how do I do that? Here is one aesthetic way that is worth experimenting with…...
by MathPickle | Jun 21, 2024 | Teaching Technique Discussion
The students above are tackling Costas arrays. The details surrounding Costas Arrays are not important. What is important is that finding a Costas array of a certain size is difficult, but that once an attempt at a solution is shown to you, it is pretty easy for you...
by MathPickle | Jun 3, 2024 | Teaching Technique Discussion
I subscribe to a newsletter from a university I enormously respect. This morning I opened it to find this image of hands raised. This meme of education has existed for long enough. Looking at the students above, you’ve got to say: 1) This looks staged. 2) The...
by MathPickle | Apr 10, 2024 | Teaching Technique Discussion
One of the greatest US university teachers is Robert Lee Moore (1882-1974) from the University of Texas. A quote of his reminded me of a quote from Joshua Zucker, the first director of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival. They are fun to compare. That student is...
by MathPickle | Apr 3, 2024 | Teaching Technique Discussion
Finland has one of the best cultures of education. There is much to learn by seeing how they prepare their pre-service...
by MathPickle | Apr 2, 2024 | Muse of Mathematics, Teaching Technique Discussion
Here are several pedagogic ideas that I use when working with young students Kindergarten to grade 2. I find these the most exhausting classrooms, so I admire teachers who spend their working life here! I could not do what you do. Experiment… If it works for...
by MathPickle | Mar 31, 2024 | Teaching Technique Discussion
Teaching remotely is difficult. These four Zoom classrooms could be part of a discussion on how to teach remotely. The children here are not average. Most are gifted. At least one is a genius. The span of ability is roughly the same as an average class. The first...
by MathPickle | Mar 31, 2024 | Teaching Technique Discussion
by MathPickle | Jan 23, 2022 | Teaching Technique Discussion
“Fill the gaps!” is the command of many well-intentioned educators. Math especially succumbs to this twisted pedagogy because math is more obviously hierarchical with lower building blocks being required to understand higher building blocks. What is wrong...
by MathPickle | Jul 11, 2021 | Teaching Technique Discussion
Sofya Kovalevskaya and Marian Small would have had good conversations had they been contemporaries. Sofya Kovalevskaya was a mathematician in an age where mathematics was a man’s domain. Marian Small is Canada’s most prolific math educator. Here is a quote...
by MathPickle | Jul 10, 2021 | Teaching Technique Discussion
June 24, 2021 Incubator Daniel and Mason presented on Smileys. That’s a puzzle that has you sparsely filling a grid with smiley faces. Then you start the app running. At each time-step a grumpy face turns into a smiley face if it touches two or more smiley...
by MathPickle | Jul 10, 2021 | Teaching Technique Discussion
July 8, 2021 Incubator Asmita Sodhi presented 5×5 Pentomino Sudoku puzzles. These are problems that her father, Amar worked on so they have a special place. You can read more about Amar and these puzzles on pages 10-12 of the 2018 CMS Notes:...
by MathPickle | Oct 6, 2016 | Teaching Technique Discussion |
When presented with a tough challenge a majority of our students charge right in. They see a computation and charge! We’ll call this majority the Quixotic Problem Solvers. The worst offenders solve one thing and instead of trying to generalize or to take steps...
by MathPickle | Aug 28, 2016 | Teaching Technique Discussion
Standard curricula have children jump through a progression of hoops. True – they stop every so often to “review” content, but this is usually time wasted for top students and it is only tolerated in order to get struggling students...
by MathPickle | Nov 15, 2015 | Teaching Technique Discussion
I want to raise a red flag about a practice that may have value, but is being pushed too much. Asking children to reflect and articulate how they think is not as important as thinking. Math class should be spent thinking – not thinking about thinking. If I see...
by MathPickle | Nov 14, 2015 | Pickle Opinion, Teaching Technique Discussion |
Molly Crocker contacted me to ask for my opinion on her finger counting ideas 1 to 99. I decided to take the opportunity and review different techniques to teach counting. The questions you should ask in selecting a technique for your classroom: Does the technique...
by MathPickle | Oct 30, 2015 | Teaching Technique Discussion |
I have honed some techniques for introducing new games and puzzles into the elementary classroom. From my previous blog postings (and the video below) you will know that I do NOT recommend teaching the rules at the start, but rather to engage students immediately by...
by MathPickle | Oct 9, 2015 | Teaching Technique Discussion |
I have been using your puzzles for a long time on my classrooms… Honestly, they are the best mathematics learning I have found to date- all the students have an entry point, and everyone is successful and challenged… I’m wondering how you come up...
by MathPickle | Oct 2, 2015 | Teaching Technique Discussion
I failed yesterday. Background: I encourage students to work in pairs or occasionally triples with a single puzzle-sheet shared between them. In my classes paper is a scarce resource. I love to see co-operative math as in the photo above. However, I have been relaxed...
by MathPickle | Sep 12, 2015 | Teaching Technique Discussion |
To teach the Scientific Method the natural impulse is to turn to the natural world. This needs rethinking. Mini-Mathethatical Universes can be created which students can poke and prod with precision. These universes should be given to students without explanation. My...
by MathPickle | Aug 18, 2015 | Teaching Technique Discussion
We should abolish the subject of mathematics in elementary school. Why? Because “mathematics” has become synonymous with arithmetic for many educators and parents. Problem solving, which should be at the heart of the classroom experience of mathematics is...
