Motivating Mathematics: Engaging Teachers And Engaged Students


Book Description

Motivating Mathematics demonstrates that pupils can be motivated by being given the Big Picture, including a clearer picture of the nature of maths, and by linking topics to the sciences, rather than teaching each topic in isolation. The author emphasises the many virtues of problem-solving, strongly emphasised in secondary education specifications, especially the role of perception, and the ability of pupils to create their own proofs and to appreciate 'cool' ideas and arguments.David Wells draws on his extensive experience of teaching primary and secondary pupils and his understanding not just of how students think about mathematics, but of how they feel about a subject which so often seems merely a collection of facts and rules to be mastered. This book will be of immediate practical use to teachers and students at all levels.Anyone involved in mathematics education will benefit from reading this inspiring book, whether classroom teacher, trainer, teacher in training or professional development, or even parent. The book will also be of interest to policy makers and others with an investment in the future of mathematics education.




Motivation Matters and Interest Counts


Book Description

Why do smart people disengage from mathematical pursuits…and how can we reverse the trend? This book is designed to be the go-to source for information on mathematical motivation. It presents the full body of research on motivation in a useful, interesting and provocative matter.




Motivating Mathematics


Book Description

Motivating Mathematics demonstrates that pupils can be motivated by being given the Big Picture, including a clearer picture of the nature of maths, and by linking topics to the sciences, rather than teaching each topic in isolation. The author emphasises the many virtues of problem-solving, strongly emphasised in secondary education specifications, especially the role of perception, and the ability of pupils to create their own proofs and to appreciate 'cool' ideas and arguments. David Wells draws on his extensive experience of teaching primary and secondary pupils and his understanding not just of how students think about mathematics, but of how they feel about a subject which so often seems merely a collection of facts and rules to be mastered. This book will be of immediate practical use to teachers and students at all levels. Anyone involved in mathematics education will benefit from reading this inspiring book, whether classroom teacher, trainer, teacher in training or professional development, or even parent. The book will also be of interest to policy makers and others with an investment in the future of mathematics education.




Motivation in Mathematics


Book Description

An overview of the different issues in motivation in mathematics. Chapters are included that present both theory and research on the influence of gender, culture, the classroom environment, and curriculum on children's mathematical performance and evaluation.




The Math Teacher's Toolbox


Book Description

Math teachers will find the classroom-tested lessons and strategies in this book to be accessible and easily implemented in the classroom The Teacher’s Toolbox series is an innovative, research-based resource providing teachers with instructional strategies for students of all levels and abilities. Each book in the collection focuses on a specific content area. Clear, concise guidance enables teachers to quickly integrate low-prep, high-value lessons and strategies in their middle school and high school classrooms. Every strategy follows a practical, how-to format established by the series editors. The Math Teacher's Toolbox contains hundreds of student-friendly classroom lessons and teaching strategies. Clear and concise chapters, fully aligned to Common Core math standards, cover the underlying research, required technology, practical classroom use, and modification of each high-value lesson and strategy. This book employs a hands-on approach to help educators quickly learn and apply proven methods and techniques in their mathematics courses. Topics range from the planning of units, lessons, tests, and homework to conducting formative assessments, differentiating instruction, motivating students, dealing with “math anxiety,” and culturally responsive teaching. Easy-to-read content shows how and why math should be taught as a language and how to make connections across mathematical units. Designed to reduce instructor preparation time and increase student engagement and comprehension, this book: Explains the usefulness, application, and potential drawbacks of each instructional strategy Provides fresh activities for all classrooms Helps math teachers work with ELLs, advanced students, and students with learning differences Offers real-world guidance for working with parents, guardians, and co-teachers The Math Teacher's Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical ideas to Support Your Students is an invaluable source of real-world lessons, strategies, and techniques for general education teachers and math specialists, as well as resource specialists/special education teachers, elementary and secondary educators, and teacher educators.




Motivating Students Who Don't Care


Book Description

"One of the most common problems teachers face in modern education is unmotivated students. Allen N. Mendler's Motivating Students Who Don't Care: Proven Strategies to Engage All Learners, 2nd Edition provides practical strategies for teachers to motivate struggling students. From emphasizing effort to sparking enthusiasm for learning, each chapter covers one key process to boost student motivation. Disinterested, unmotivated students can be discouraging to hardworking teachers, but Mendler's proven strategies can nurture enthusiasm and excitement for learning in any classroom and reach even the most challenging students"--




Effective Techniques to Motivate Mathematics Instruction


Book Description

Effective Techniques to Motivate Mathematics Instruction offers pre-and in-service teachers best practices and techniques that can be used to motivate students in the first few minutes of any lesson in mathematics. Veteran teacher educators Posamentier and Krulik show how a bit of creativity and planning up front pays back by enabling a successful lesson on even the most challenging mathematics topic. Organized around nine different motivational techniques, each chapter includes a variety of illustrative examples of how the technique may be applied. Designed to complement any methods textbook, this practical, accessible guide helps future math teachers ease the transition from successful student to successful teacher by developing the tools needed to create motivational introductions in their classes.




Tackling the Motivation Crisis


Book Description

Packed with practical strategies you can use to create a culture of self-motivation in your school! Teachers use traditional incentive and reward systems with the best of intentions. We're trying to support students' positive behavior and learning. We're hoping to motivate and inspire students to work hard and do well in school. If everyone behaves, we'll have a pizza party. The more books you read, the more stickers you'll receive. On the surface, these systems seem to make sense. They may even seem to work. But in the long term, they do not foster intrinsic motivation or a love or learning. In fact, they often have the opposite effect. In Tackling the Motivation Crisis: How to Activate Student Learning Without Behavior Charts, Pizza Parties, or Other Hard-to-Quit Incentive Systems, award-winning educator and best-selling author Mike Anderson explains * The damage done by extrinsic motivation systems and why they are so hard for us to give up. * What intrinsic motivation looks like and the six high-impact motivators—autonomy, belonging, competence, purpose, fun, and curiosity—that foster it. * How to teach the self-management and self-motivation skills that can make a difference for kids. * How to use intrinsic motivation in curricula and instructional strategies, feedback and assessment, and discipline and classroom management. Ultimately, our job as teachers is not to motivate our students. It's to make sure that our classrooms and schools are places that inspire their intrinsic motivation and allow it to flourish. Anderson shows how you can better do that right away—no matter what grade level or subject area you teach.




The Knowledge Gap


Book Description

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.




Engaging Schools


Book Description

When it comes to motivating people to learn, disadvantaged urban adolescents are usually perceived as a hard sell. Yet, in a recent MetLife survey, 89 percent of the low-income students claimed "I really want to learn" applied to them. What is it about the school environmentâ€"pedagogy, curriculum, climate, organizationâ€"that encourages or discourages engagement in school activities? How do peers, family, and community affect adolescents' attitudes towards learning? Engaging Schools reviews current research on what shapes adolescents' school engagement and motivation to learnâ€"including new findings on students' sense of belongingâ€"and looks at ways these can be used to reform urban high schools. This book discusses what changes hold the greatest promise for increasing students' motivation to learn in these schools. It looks at various approaches to reform through different methods of instruction and assessment, adjustments in school size, vocational teaching, and other key areas. Examples of innovative schools, classrooms, and out-of-school programs that have proved successful in getting high school kids excited about learning are also included.