1. Excerpt from I Believe: Common Myths about Learning Mathematics Rita Barger, Ph.D. University of Missouri-Kansas City bargerr@umkc.edu

2. Common Myths about Learning Mathematics 1.The “five minute” belief 2.The “you have to be taught how” belief 3.The “math is mostly memorizing” belief 4.The “math is only computation” belief 5.The “some people just naturally can’t do mathematics” belief

3. BELIEF 1: FIVE MINUTES What does it mean? What causes it? Our traditional way of teaching Teachers giving too much help too quickly Textbooks that give examples and have answers in the back TV

4. FIVE MINUTES What does it look like in the classroom? Students give up after working on a problem briefly Hands go up as soon as guided practice starts Incomplete homework Student walking into class saying “I didn’t understand the homework”

5. FIVE MINUTES Ideas, Activities, and Strategies 1.The “did you” list 2.Brain teasers 3.History 4.Hints instead of solutions 5.Don’t ever give the answer

6. Belief 2: You Have to be Taught How What does it mean? What causes this belief? Requiring things be done a specific way Requiring “show all your work” Teaching skills as opposed to concepts Teaching shortcuts Traditional textbooks with example problems

7. You Have to be Taught How What does it look like in the classroom Skipped problems High stakes tests Classroom tests Homework

8. You Have to be Taught How Ideas, Activities and Strategies Word problems with teacher not talking Brain teasers Teach processes Require solving a problem in more than one way Value and reward original thinking

9. Belief 3: Math is Mostly Memorizing What the belief means What causes this belief Teaching skills “Do what I do” Cues when discussing Asking low level thinking questions Proofs and problems on tests that come straight from the homework or class Traditional teaching

10. Math is Mostly Memorizing What does it look like in the classroom? Students trying to remember what was said Test analysis Couldn’t remember Understood once but forgot Inability to generalize or apply

11. Math is Mostly Memorizing Ideas, Activities, and Strategies Emphasize and reward thinking Derive area formulas instead of memorizing them Develop volume formulas Inquiry lessons Emphasize making sense

12. Math is Mostly Memorizing Ideas, Activities, and Strategies Understand why Ask it in class Ask it on tests Ask process questions on tests and in class Ask to explain on tests Allow a note card for tests Test error analysis sheet

13. Belief 4: Math Is Only Computation What this belief means What causes it? What is tested Amount of class time spent on skills and computation vs. other things Teacher discomfort with other topics

14. Math Is Only Computation What does it look like in the classroom Not realizing that games are math Discounting the value of non-computational topics

15. Math Is Only Computation Ideas, Activities, and Strategies Start the year with geometry transformations Monitor units and topics and see how much time is spent in each area Emphasize connections Use calculators Focus on problem solving

16. Math Is Only Computation Ideas, Activities, and Strategies Use sequences or analogies that don’t have numbers in them Talk about what real mathematicians do Look for patterns in everything

17. Belief 5: Some People Just Naturally Can’t Do Math What the belief means What causes the belief? Parent comments Society comments Other teachers saying the student’s strength is elsewhere Media comments

18. Some People Just Naturally Can’t Do Math What does it look like in the classroom Spoken “I’ve never been good with math”

19. Some People Just Naturally Can’t Do Math Ideas, Activities, and Strategies Convince them they can learn Convince them you’re the one who can teach them Brain teasers Point out when they do math without knowing it Sudoku

20. Unhealthy Beliefs Strategies Discuss openly when they occur Assert they are not true Brain teasers Work things more than one way Value and reward thinking Change what you put on tests Use calculators Play games