How to Teach Math
How to Teach Math
Know Your Content Area
|
Research Tricks
|
Plan Your Lessons
|
Know the "why Question
|
Be Confident
|
The Math Teacher
I have been a math teacher my whole life. I was the kid that math always came easy to and started helping my peers around 3rd grade with math problems. My high school guidnace councelor suggested that I become an accountant. As much as I love numbers, being an accountant did not sound like fun. I became a math teacher because I loved teaching and I loved math. Not many people get to do what they love for a career, I count myself lucky that for the 10 years I had the perfect career for me. Along the way I picked up a masters degree, a National Board Certification in teaching early adolescent mathematics, and I became a state certified master teacher. So I know a few things about teaching math.
Know Your Content Area
It always amazes me how many teachers don't know there content area. Know your area and continue learning, continue seeking out different methods of teaching and different theorems. I am not talking new research or methodology here. I am talking about getting down to the basic of your subject matter, you must know the depth and the span of the content area you are teaching. This is an essential element of being an excellant teacher. You can't be a good teacher if you don't know what you are talking about, it doesn't matter is you teach kindergarten or high school know everything you can about your subject matter.
Research Tricks
I know this sounds silly. When i give a struggling students one of my mnemonic devices or tricks they are always amazed that their current or previous teacher didn't teach them that specific thing. The more you know about
Plan Your Lessons
Being prepared makes a good teacher better. Know how you want to teach thing, be prepared for questions, have a backup plan, and be inventive. It doesn't have to take hours of prep to come with a great lesson. It does take planning and knowledge. Simple manipulatives and hands on learning can take a boring lesson a million miles away from boring. Keep the student engaged with interactive hands on lessons. Keep their minds thinking by asking questions and not just answering them. Question the students to explore their learning and take the content to the next level.
National Board Teacher
Know the "why" Question
You will inevitably get the question "why" from your students. Be prepared and know the answer before they ask it. This should be part of your lesson planning process. Know why it works, how it works, and the theorems behind the math. All it takes it one smart kids to throw you off your game and the rest of the class will see the weakness in your knowledge too. Even if you are teaching a lower level math that doesn't go into the theorem it helps you explain it better if you understand why.
Be Confident
Be confident in what you know but don't be afraid to admit when you don't know something or need to look something up. It is better to look up something then to teach student incorrectly.