tip for the month:

Making Math Fun

By Megan Greenwell

Washington Post Staff Writer

Algebra class doesn't generally involve carnival games and outrageous hats, but Dorothy H. "Darcy" Richards is doing her best to change that at Patuxent High School.

Richards's commitment to making math fun has brought her legions of student fans over the past seven years, and now it has also earned her the 2007 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award for Calvert County as recognized by The Washington Post.

Good teachers can help students overcome common fears of math class by emphasizing real-world applications and even being goofy, Richards said. While teaching her ninth-grade algebra students how to find the slope of a line, she wears a zany ski hat to make them laugh. Another lesson allowed students to play carnival games after finding their probability of winning.

"Math is often a hated subject, and because of that students find it difficult," Richards said. "I love math, and I want my students to love math and succeed in it, so I try to find something that will make it fun."

Richards, 46, started her career as an engineer for a defense contractor, although she had thought about becoming a math teacher since high school. After she began volunteering in her children's classrooms, she decided to go back to school to get a teaching degree.

Richards now teaches algebra, algebra II and geometry, and is co-chairman of the math department. On the side, she tutors students in every level of math and leads an after-school remediation program to help students prepare for the High School Assessment tests. She also reviews test preparation materials as a consultant for educational publishing company McDougall Littell and is a frequent face at school athletic and performing arts events, colleagues said.

"Darcy's tireless commitment to PHS and her students' success is unparalleled," Alexander C. Jaffurs, Calvert County's coordinator of intermediate mathematics, wrote in a letter recommending Richards for the award.

The commitment has paid off in the form of a 97 percent passing rate among Richards's students on the algebra High School Assessment exam. As a leader of the team of algebra teachers at Patuxent, other teachers benefit from her wisdom about effective teaching techniques, school administrators said.

Richards said any praise she earns should be directed to the entire six-person algebra team.

"The team philosophy we have helps each one of us do well," she said. "Together we're better able to take the whole group of algebra students to whatever the next level is."

__________________________

tips for beginning new math teachers

by gisele glosser

Try not to frown on wrong answers. It discourages students from participating. Critical thought and honest effort are more important than correct answers. There is no teaching without control of your class. It is better to fall behind by a day or two early in the year than to have an uphill battle all year long over behavior. Avoid talking over your students. If there is too much noise, sometimes the best thing to do is to stop talking. (I am famous for the "Glosser Glare".) Routine and structure are good, but too much of it can cause you and your class to fall into a rut. Try to vary activities from time to time. Encourage active participation from your students. From time to time, call students to the board, or allow them to work in groups. Avoid giving only teacher-directed lessons.  (See our article on Cooperative Learning Techniques.) Try to be flexible. Math can be a rigid topic. But you don't have to be. For example, I have a strict rule against chewing gum. But I close my eyes to it during a test. Try to spell out what topics will be on the test. Telling your students to "Study Chapter 6" is not enough, especially if they have poor study skills. In some schools, math is the only subject where students are grouped by ability (i.e. homogeneously). This makes it stand out more than other subjects. Parents may frequently ask: "Why didn't Johnny get an A in math? He got one in all his other subjects..." Some parents may insist that their child be placed in the top math group, even when the child does not  belong there. It is important to get support from an administrator  when it comes to difficult issues such as math groupings.   Ask that they be present at conferences with difficult parents. If a student was present for all the material taught, but is absent on the day of the test, then on the day he returns. inform him/her of the make-up day and time. Don't let it go more than a day or two. However, if the student missed part or all of the material taught, you should give him a deadline by which to make up all missed work, and a new test date. It may be helpful to contact the parent in this case. A student should not be penalized for being absent. However, they can be penalized for failing to make up missed work. I recommend a technique called "Front Loading". Students are most motivated to learn at the beginning of the school year. Rather than reviewing material from the previous school year, why not introduce a topic they haven't seen before? Try to teach students good problem-solving skills. When your students enter the work place, their superiors will not give them a worksheet with 25 least common multiple (LCM) exercises. They will more likely have a scheduling problem that needs to be solved using LCM concepts. To motivate students, give out awards for both good academics and for good effort. Do your best to be fair to students. You will earn their respect this way. The best motivator of all is connecting math to the real world. For example, when teaching the metric system, have students bring in empty cartons and bottles from their kitchen.

tEACHER'S, WE NEED YOUR EXPERT ADVICE, SO IF YOU'RE A VETERAN TEACHER OR A NEW TEACHER AND YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR YOU.  PLEASE SEND US ANY TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING so that we may share it with everyone.  Please include your name and school district and email address.  CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND EMAIL TO KEVIN FITE

mailto:kfite@mathbeyondtherealm.com