Thursday, July 22, 2010

Day One of Class: Beliefs About Math




Beliefs About Math and Learning





T F 4. Math is mostly about memorizing.


T F 6. It’s bad to count on your fingers.




T F 10.


  1. How about a question (or questions) that has a true answer--a positive statement about math? I have done something similar in my classes (I also teach at a CA CC) and found that I tended to focus on my students' probable negative perceptions a little too much. It tended to turn off the few who actually thought they might like it. I realized that the students wanted me to understand how they felt about math, but didn't want me to make assumptions about it.

    BTW, found your blog while falling down the SBG blogging rabbit hole. All the SBG posts out there are very interesting reading and I am excited to try it in my calc class this fall. 24 days of summer left for me!

  2. I like Kellypactr's comment about the positive statements, even if they are false.

    How about...Any math problem can be solved with a formula.

  3. How 'bout something like "Getting the wrong answer means nothing was learned or I wasted my time" or something like that?

  4. How about:

    T/F: Hard work is more important than natural talent when it comes to mathematics.

    That is a positive statement that (hopefully) will help quell the notion that mathematicians are geniuses.

    Kellypactr: We must have crossed paths in the SBG rabbit hole—I just took the plunge myself.

  5. Ooh, I like the suggestions for positive statements.

    I was going to suggest something like "some people are just naturally good at math," which could provoke some interesting discussion about what it means to "be good"-- whether it means catching on quickly or deeply mastering the material-- and about how hard work is important regardless of whether something comes easily or not.

    I recently wrote about some studies on praise that were pretty noteworthy in that students who are used to "being smart" and being told that they're smart are actually more likely to give up quickly, choose easy problems, and cheat, because they want to keep being smart. I wonder if a statement about being good at math could open the conversation to your students who traditionally have done well, and let them know that there's always room for improvement.

    Great idea!

  6. Kellypactr, I would love to discuss calc class with you. I'll be teaching calc II this term (unless it doesn't fill).

    Thanks, all, for the ideas. I will definitely add some of these.

  7. Okay, this isn't a positive statement but perhaps it can be tweaked. What about something like, "My parents say they can't do math so neither can I". I always get frustrated when parents say this to their kids. Then it is as if they have empowered their kids to do poorly at math.

  8. Perhaps it could become neutral this way:
    Math ability is inherited.

    That gets at the 'math gene' idea from another angle.


    John Golden reworked this whole assessment pretty completely, and posted at his blog.

    I like what he did, so I'm going to re-do mine, using the comments here and what he did. More later...

  9. I'm a grad student and I believe I'll be teaching developmental math again this semester (we don't know until a few days before class starts). I think I might use this survey as well. I also use a "quiz" to familiarize my students with using the graphing calculator. We will be using a new textbook this time, so I'm thinking I might develop an activity to have them explore sections of the book.

  10. Hi Erika, Thanks for visiting. I'm wondering how much that new textbook will cost the students...


Math Blog Directory