What is effective teaching... Post 2

Today, I am sharing the thoughts of two faculty members here at Lesley.

Steve Yurek, the Associate Director of the Center for Mathematics Achievement, is a former high school teacher.  Steve taught at the high school level for 38 years and now teaches in the M.Ed in Mathematics Education (1-8) program here at Lesley University.  Here are his thoughts, complete with a video:

 "There are so many factors that encompass effective teaching that to mention one may seem to de-emphasize any of the others, but the reality is that we are all different, so we may favor one technique or strategy over another, we must not ignore all the other factors that make us great.  I’ve included a youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orBxCJL8N8Y  that encompasses this sense of balance more graphically that I have ever seen.  You may have already seen it, but it drives home the point that all parts of a well-defined system are no more important than another. Now, regarding my thoughts and experiences, I’ve found that answering a student’s question with another question is initially frustrating for the student, but ultimately guides them to the understanding that is the point of a lesson.  And how can I assess that my technique here is effective?  I usually use 2 barometers:  The first is visual - the look on the student’s face during that AHA moment, and the second is when the student asks a follow-up question that is richer and deeper than the first.

Regarding advise for a first year teacher:  When I began teaching, I was told “Never smile before Christmas”, but that didn’t work for me because it caused me to present a false/forced image of myself and I was very uncomfortable and quickly realized that I just had to be myself.    I learned to treat my students as fellow humans beings, in a manner that was appropriate for the grade level, while maintaining that separation between student and teacher.

As with effective teaching, there are so many things that first year teachers should know, but  I think that most important are (a) stay true to yourself, (b) be prepared for each class, (c) volunteer for stuff (d) continue to learn about mathematics and about good teaching."

If you have not seen the video, do watch the whole thing or at until 8 minutes.  It all comes together in the last minute!

Barbara Allen-Lyall, current faculty member here at Lesley and a current K-12 teacher in Connecticut, answered with the following:

"What is effective teaching? 

When content is artfully organized and creatively presented, the flow of learning allows students to naturally reach a succession of learning plateaus.  These seemingly level places are not a time for practice or mental rest, but rather an opportunity for super cognitive challenge through problem solving.   

Done right, this is also when students–not the teacher–can be heard asking the important and most interesting questions."

I have seen both Barbara and Steve teach in the graduate program and can honestly say that each time I watch them, I learn something new.  They each have very different styles, but their passion for the field and effectiveness in their teaching is evident.

What do you think of their advice?  How would you answer the question?  

More responses to follow!  Happy Friday!

Katie

What is effective teaching... Post 1

What does effective teaching look like?

As the school year begins to wind down, and the summer begins, we have been discussing how the year went.  For us, this really begins with whether we are engaging in effective teaching all year round.  Effective teaching applies to not only our courses, but also the workshops and institutes and any professional development we are a part of.

So the question is what is effective teaching?  Our main cornerstone in the Math Center, is that effective teaching is about asking the right questions and providing the right atmosphere in the classroom.  An effective teacher knows that in order to engage a student, you cannot just show them how to answer a problem or to solve an equation, but that you must probe that students thinking so that they answer the question or solve the equation.

Rather than give my own definition, I asked our faculty to share what they thought.  For the next couple of weeks, I will be posting what they see as being an effective teacher.  Today, however, I thought I would share two important pieces of advice given to me as a new teacher.

“The person holding the pencil is the person doing all the work.” 

All too often, when a student asks me a question, I find myself reaching for a pencil to work out the problem.  In my head, I am thinking we are working together, however as we work through the problem, I am the only one writing.  One time as this was happening; the lead teacher walked by and made this statement.  At first, I have to admit, I was little taken aback.  However, I put down my pencil (and sat on my hands) and asked guiding questions instead.  It was crazy, but the student became more confident and actually went from a struggling student, to the one who generated the formula first.  Every time I pick up a pencil, I hear this in my head and put it down, and instead ask the student to work through it.

“Never say anything a student can say.”

This has been said over and over again.  This might be the most singularly important piece of advice ever given to me.  It has revolutionized the way I think about teaching.  However, this is the hardest advice to follow.  I find myself constantly rethinking how to approach a concept without telling.  Asking ten questions to a student to have them come up with the answer, when I just want to say here it is!  It’s hard to untrain myself, to question rather than tell.  To come up with lessons that do not start with “here is how we…” and change them to “how would you…”  The more I speak with other teachers, the more I hear how easy it is to fall back in the “I do, we do, you do” model of teaching when you are stuck.  However, I also hear how much more rewarding it is to have your students develop their own understanding, it sticks when they get it much more than we they are told.  

Every couple of days, I will post advice from our faculty and what they see as effective teaching.  Please post your questions or what you think effective teaching is as well!

Recap of the past year...

It's been a while since we posted, and we apologize for that.  Over the past few months, we have had seven courses end and three additional courses start.  That's over 213 teachers taking mathematics courses this year!!  We are so excited that we have so many returning teachers taking more classes and wanted to share some of the feedback we have received over the past couple of months.

Before we share that feedback, we wanted to share with you some exciting news.  This July, Lesley University will co-sponsor with the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in New England (ATMNE) a summer institute Weaving the Mathematical Practices through the K-12 Curriculum.  This is a new venture for Lesley, and for the Center for Math Achievement, but we are excited to have some of the most influential mathematics educators of the region lead workshops on the mathematical practices.  If you are interested or would like more information, please visit our website: Weaving the Mathematical Practices through the K-12 Curriculum.

So here is some of the feedback we have received:

"Each week we were given fabulous hands-on activities that could immediately be used in the classroom.  The similar triangles exercise where we used mirrors and went outside to try and estimate the height of the light post was fantastic.  It was so much better than drawing the usual flag pole and stick figure to compare their shadows.  The giant balance scales were also a big hit and even though they are not readily available in our schools, Anne had a way to do the same thing will a ruler and a couple of paper clips." - D.P.

"I really like the double number line diagram. It is a great visual tool for thinking. I introduced the double line model (diagram) to my 6th graders, they were impressed with it. We solved about 9 problems using the double number line diagram and the students fell in love with it. It is a good tool to have to solve problems involving rates and ratios. I can see myself using next year. I can say I learn some great key mathematics skills on rate, ratio, and proportion and I am ready to pass on these skills to my students. It is my belief that my students will learn more from me and become more self-sufficient learners." - A.S.

"I have begun using the Algebolcks with this class. I told them that these were new to me and we were going to figure out how to use these together. We have only added and subtracted integers using the basic mat, but a few of my students have actually said “OHHHHHH, I really get this now.” This made me so happy!!!" - E.J.

"The making of the pencil was a very fun activity – that is what learning should be about – fun and learning." - C.L.

"People dont want to travel, and they are missing out!" -Anonymous

"It was interesting, engaging, and gave us lots of good problems to take back to the classroom." - Anonymous

We have had a great year, full of fun and challenging mathematics experiences.  We are looking forward to an upcoming year of more mathematical fun!  

If you would like more information about the Center for Mathematics Achievement or have any questions please contact us at mathachievement@lesley.edu.