iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

When teachers reexamine how they were taught math and their perceptions of their ability, student test scores and attitudes about math dramatically improve, according to a new study.

The research, which appears in the journal Education Sciences, shows that fifth-grade teachers who took an online class designed to give them a different approach to mathematics teaching and learning, achieved significantly higher test results for their students compared with a control group of teachers in the same schools who did not take the class.

For most students, science, math, engineering, and technology (STEM) subjects are not intuitive or easy. Learning in general—and STEM in particular—requires repeated trial and error, and a student’s lack of confidence can sometimes stand in her own way. And although teachers and parents may think they are doing otherwise, these adults inadvertently help kids make up their minds early on that they're not natural scientists or “math people,” which leads them to pursue other subjects instead.

So what's the best way to help kids feel confident enough to stay the STEM course? To answer this question, I spoke with Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University in California. Over the past 20 years, Dweck has conducted dozens of studies about praise’s impact on students’ self-esteem and academic achievement. Here is a transcript of our conversation, which has been condensed and lightly edited.

The maker movement has expanded greatly in recent years and much of the attention has focused on cities with high population density and large well-funded school districts. In rural districts, teachers are also developing maker projects to help students gain the benefits that come from hands-on experiences, while better understanding the needs of their communities.

What does it take to improve student success and interest in math? The Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) asked more than 400 U.S. high school math teachers for their advice related to teaching and learning mathematics.

“The good news is that students can have success in math class with the right effort, attitude, and behavior, regardless of a natural affinity or being ‘good at math,’” said Michelle Montgomery, project director of the MathWorks Math Modeling (M3) Challenge at SIAM. “Using quantitative skills to solve real, open-ended problems by employing the mathematical modeling process is a great way to get started.” 

Dan Ryder is an improviser, design thinker, and Twitter chatter at #dtk12chat and #EdCorps. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator for 2017 and co-author of Intention: CriticalCreativity, which can be purchased here.

Dan can be found on Twitter @WickedDecent and on the web at danryder207.com. Here is a great article by Dan for design thinking in the ELA classroom.

I had some visitors in my library makerspace last week that were wanting to add an aspect of maker education into their own libraries.

As they walked around our space, visited with my collaborating English teacher, and witnessed students prototyping for our invention literacy project, they said something surprising.

“We noticed you have traditional wooden library chairs and tables, so it isn’t about the furniture, is it? Maker Education? It’s about the mindset?”

‘It’s boring’, he groaned, glancing sideways beseechingly. ’Do I have to do it. Why do I need to learn to code?’  Part of the year 6 gifted and talented class, this student punched keys, slammed the laptop shut, yanked it open again. His friend offered to help. Desolately he turned back to the coding lessons.

I continue cruising the classroom stepping over lanky legs harbouring slumped socks, dodging flailing arms. ‘It’s really easy – it’s like the games we play. I’m trying to trip it up,’ one boy tells me as I watch the psychedelic coloured spinning shape. It reminds me of a rapidly created multi-coloured elastic band ball. He’s chuckling with glee. I am amazed.

This was my first coding class as a supply teacher.