#mathsteaching

When I was just starting as a Maths teacher I observed a class on simultaneous equations. It was with a C/D borderline class and they were obviously struggling with it. The teacher gave them one type of question and they solved it together and then students practiced but as soon as they came to a question with a slight difference such as negatives they were stuck and the class had to stop again and go through this type of question. The class proceeded like this with no real understanding going on. I have since faced simultaneous equations with a weaker group and they understood the basic concept. To progress them I gave them a group of scattered questions on the board and asked them to rank them from hardest to easiest and to describe the reason why they had ranked them. This caused discussion amongst students about the difference between the work they could do and these slight variations. This meant all the problems had been solved by them to turn the questions into ones they could solve and they could practice. I have used this method time and again and it does get students to focus on one particular aspect of a questions rather than seeing the whole thing as one big scary worksheet. It also removes the fear as I didn't expect them to solve these questions although if they were feeling really brave they could after they had ranked them.

Until tomorrow,

We spend our teaching careers dishing out questions for students to solve. It would be, however, much simpler for students to create their own questions. This is not an innovative thought but it is important that students can explain through their writing about how their question is a little harder than the ones we have already done. If they create multiple questions then how their questions have developed with difficulty. This gets students to consider the misconceptions themselves while also dealing with a solution path. It is much more likely to stick this way as they are putting more deep thought into their work. I am a strong believer that writing about their work is an important attribute to have and also helps all students to understand more if they are able to explain their working. Students understanding is the upmost importance to me, I repeatedly tell them that there are no 'tricks' taught in my class. 

Hope you are having a good start to the week :)