Teaching

• A good 2021 Twitter Thread on exam questions, including hte idea of asking students for questions.

Equation Sheets

One of my 7th graders had a good idea for something to write on the 1-page equation sheet I allow them for tests. She wrote,

    "You've got this!"
That's a good use of space.

Math Teaching

• "A Mathematician's Lament", Lockhart.

A musician wakes from a terrible nightmare. In his dream he finds himself in a society where

music education has been made mandatory. “We are helping our students become more competitive in an increasingly sound-filled world.” Educators, school systems, and the state are put in charge of this vital project. Studies are commissioned, committees are formed, and decisions are made— all without the advice or participation of a single working musician or composer.

Since musicians are known to set down their ideas in the form of sheet music, these curious

black dots and lines must constitute the “language of music.” It is imperative that students become fluent in this language if they are to attain any degree of musical competence; indeed, it would be ludicrous to expect a child to sing a song or play an instrument without having a thorough grounding in music notation and theory. Playing and listening to music, let alone composing an original piece, are considered very advanced topics and are generally put off until college, and more often graduate school.

“In seventh

grade we mostly study colors and applicators.” They showed me a worksheet. On one side were swatches of color with blank spaces next to them. They were told to write in the names. “I like painting,” one of them remarked, “they tell me what to do and I do it. It’s easy!” After class I spoke with the teacher. “So your students don’t actually do any painting?” I asked. “Well, next year they take Pre-Paint-by-Numbers. That prepares them for the main Paint-by-Numbers sequence in high school. So they’ll get to use what they’ve learned here and apply it to real-life painting situations— dipping the brush into paint, wiping it off, stuff like that.

If I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural

curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done— I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the kind of senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education.

Many a graduate student has come

to grief when they discover, after a decade of being told they were “good at math,” that in fact they have no real mathematical talent and are just very good at following directions.

Office Hours

• Students need to realize that it is especially important both for the BOTTOM and the TOP students to come to office hours. For my 7th graders now, and for college, MBA, and PhD students. We teach to the middle. Office hours are for special stuff.

What I've Learned about Teaching 7th Grade Math

• For Zoom office hours, a document camera is necessary.

• The students need to be told what "show your work" means.

• The students need to be forced to use lots of paper in doing homework.

• The students need to be forced to use looseleaf binders and keep them neat and organized.

• The students need monthly tests.

• Competitions are often useful.

• Slow students need one-on-one tutoring.

• Python coding is fun for them and helpful for teaching them.

Participation

• Casey Wichman: I made a wise decision to allow my "econ & policy" students make up participation points by submitting econ memes that relate to class. Grading has never been more fun.

Reading Books

Ben Smith

@BenDSmith_CA Replying to @drandrewmking I took a class on Isaiah where the professor required us to read through Isaiah 7 times. 4 times in 3 sittings or less, 2 times is 2 sittings or less, and 1 time in 1 sitting. Great experience.

Whiteboards

On chalkboards v. whiteboards, Twitter (2022).