Here’s Erika from Florida discussing practice and overcoming a topic’s bad reputation.
Do you give practice problems every night?
I do give practice problems almost every night. I think it’s one of the most important things to do, because math, especially algebra, isn’t something you can learn by just looking at it or memorizing the steps. To truly understand how to solve any given problem, you have to practice it.
Have you stumbled upon any tips for teaching algebra from your experience in the classroom?
Keep a track of how long it took you to teach each subject, and what specifically the students had trouble with. It really helps for when you’re trying to pace out the course if you’re teaching it again in the future.
Which topic in algebra is the hardest to teach? How do you deal with that?
If you’re “lucky” enough to be teaching trigonometry, it’s definitely the hardest to tackle. Not because it’s a difficult topic, but because the students most likely already have a negative view about it, and it’s hard to get over that first barrier. Taking it really slow and relating it to previous topics, especially ones they liked, is the best way I know to push through that barrier and to get the students interested in trig.
