Welcome to my elementary math education blog, where math is for exploring and teachers can learn how to set the stage for exploration!
My name is Kristine and I am an elementary mathematics specialist, teacher, mother, wife, plant killer, cookie baker, Spin, Pilates and dance instructor, lifelong student, and a recovering math hater.
As a student, my lack of math confidence held me back from everything I wanted to do. Math scores kept me out of honors English classes in high school (public schools have been riddled with ridiculous policies long before now). My weak math background kept me from declaring the Exercise Physiology major I wanted at Rutgers… for a year anyway. But it turned out that once I had an actual reason for doing math… it wasn’t impossible after all.
Now I find mathematics fascinating and quite beautiful! Perhaps I am one of the original growth mindset success stories? @JoBoaler.
The week before starting my very first teaching job, my principal switched me from third grade to fifth. He insisted that with a B.S. from Rutgers, a Masters degree and a passion for technology… that I “was a no-brainer for fifth grade”.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” I cried. I sobbed. “You don’t understand! I cannot teach fifth grade math! PLEASE! I AM BEGGING YOU! Don’t do this to those poor innocent children!”
(((sigh)))
I lost my first teacher battle. (Except really, I won.)
I tried SO HARD not to let my students see my debilitating fear of math … that it ended up becoming a highlight of our day. Since the textbooks made me want to gouge my eyes out, I reworked most of the word problems and twisted them into pretend realities about our school, my family and things my students enjoyed. My students explored math with our “American Idol” unit, a “Deal or No Deal” unit and dozens of other tasks and activities. During my second year, we were given the INVESTIGATIONS program, and I fell in love!
Like many love stories, it was NOT love at first sight. It started out with me trying to avoid it at all costs and tell everyone how obnoxious it was. But as soon as I understood just why it was so different… and how exciting it could be… and how alive I felt when I was with him.. I mean it… I just knew THIS WAS THE MATH FOR ME! And while we are no longer together… I am a math teacher because of INVESTIGATIONS.
I learned how to engage learners; how to inspire curiosity and exploration; how to cultivate problem solvers instead of answer getters. You know what else happened?
And that is why I rarely utter declarative sentences in class. I believe it is all about the questions. The better our questions are… the better our students become. I love offering games and tasks with as little introduction as possible just to see where they can go.
If you share my love of student engagement, high standards and exploration based instruction, I hope you take a minute to follow my teaching resources. There are just TOO MANY programs and resources that give everything away!!
I work hard to balance worthy math exploration with ease of implementation! Never forgetting that the more we give away… the more we are taking from our students. The more we tell them, the less they learn to question. And isn’t that the main reason for teaching math?
That is why my very first give-away, is 100 PHOTOS TO INSPIRE QUESTIONS ABOUT MATH! You can read about it HERE.
I am still learning every day. But one thing I know for certain, is that the BEST MATH TEACHERS set the stage for exploration!
Get it? Explore?? Like a Viking??
So for all those teachers who think math is not their thing. I get it! I hear you! You’re totally wrong! But I hear you. Let’s talk about it.
