Math questions? Ask Marilyn Burns! - suggestions for teaching math - includes related article - Cover Story

Instructor, April, 1994

Answers to 15 of your toughest math problems

* Recently we asked INSTRUCTOR readers to tell us their concerns about teaching math. Here, veteran teacher, math innovator, and INSTRUCTOR columnist Marilyn Burns offers solutions.

What Do I Do About Math Phobias?

I'm uncomfortable with math. How can I make my students feel good about math if I have a tough time with it?

Be honest with the children. When teaching an unfamiliar topic or presenting a new problem, tell them, "This is new for me, too."

Making such an admission may seem risky, but you have two choices--avoid presenting the topic or problem to the class, or learn along with the students. Take the second choice. It's good for children to see adults as lifelong learners.

Also, seek help. Find a friend or colleague who is willing to be a math resource to you--and your class. Collect questions you don't feel comfortable answering. Either have the resource come to class to talk with your students or give the questions to him or her to answer.

I always have students who come to class saying they hate math. How can I undo their past experiences?

Here's the line I've delivered to students of all ages: "Welcome to fourth-grade (or whatever grade) math. In our class, the way you'll learn math may be different from the way you've studied math before. What's most important in math this year is that you think, reason, and do only what makes sense to you. An important class rule is: You must be able to explain all that you do. That means we'll be doing a lot of talking in class about math, and writing, too. My job as your teacher is to help you make sense of math ideas."

How Should I Organize My Math Programs?

I have a wide range of math abilities in my class, and group my students for math instruction to meet their needs. I sometimes have trouble keeping one group busy while I work with another. Any suggestions?

I'm not in favor of grouping children according to their abilities. Doing so points out students' deficiencies and doesn't contribute to building a community of math learners. I know that there are differences among students' mathematical abilities, often profound differences, and I agree that it's important to offer all children opportunities to learn in ways that are appropriate for them. I don't think grouping is essential to accomplish this.

I take a different approach. I look for learning activities that are appropriate for all students, that challenge students with more aptitude and interest while being accessible to children with less experience. For example, in the Two-Dice Sums game, some children are challenged merely by adding the numbers that come up on two dice while others are thinking about the probabilities of the different sums and the best strategy for placing the markers. And these children can interact with each other, each getting something of mathematical value from the experience.

What place does cooperative learning have in math class?

In order to make sense of the math they're learning, students need as many opportunities as possible to talk about what they're thinking and how they're reasoning. Cooperative groups make that happen.

What I want for all students is to maximize their opportunities to develop, cement, and extend their understanding. Communication is key. And working cooperatively in groups maximizes the potential for all students to talk about their ideas and learn from others' thinking.

Isn't it okay for students to work individually at times?

Sometimes it's more appropriate, depending on the purpose. For example, in order to assess my students' understanding, I may give an independent assignment. This feels perfectly fine to me. But it's a question of balance. I think that the bulk of math time should be spent in situations where students have the opportunity to learn--from each other, as well as from me.

I've had students who aren't willing to work cooperatively. What can I do?

I work hard to set the classroom culture and establish guidelines for behavior so that students learn to work together and cooperate. And on and off throughout the year, I reinforce the behavior guidelines and talk with the class about why I think cooperating is valuable to their learning.

As with all classroom routines, I keep at it. Recently, Jason and Lupe were having difficulty when playing Two-Dice Sums. "She's hogging the dice and won't let me roll them," Jason wailed. Lupe shot back, "Well, he always throws them so they land on the floor." I reminded them of the take-turns-rolling-the-dice rule and talked with them about how they could make this work. I insisted they find a way to work it out, and waited to see that they would.

At times, I'll have a class discussion and have students present problems they encountered working together and how they worked them out.

How Can I Link Math and Language Arts?

Should writing be a part of math class and, if so, how big a part?

Writing should be a part of instruction in all curriculum areas, including math. As William Zinsser says in his book Writing to Learn (HarperCollins, 1988), "Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own." Writing should be integral to math learning. It helps students reflect on their thinking and make sense of math ideas. Also, students' writing is invaluable for assessing what students understand and how they think.