Kristine Mackowski is a special education teacher in New York.
Check out her videos at Teacher Tube!
Are there any tips you’ve accumulated from your experience with teaching algebra that you’d like to share?
I find that the use of manipulatives work well for my population of students. For example, when teaching one and two-step algebra equations, I use “Hands-on Algebra.” It provides my students a chance to see how to “balance” out the two sides of an equation by using number cubes and pawns on a paper scale. We then transfer to pencil and paper and they can still visualize the steps and the importance of keeping the scale balanced.
I also think it is important to teach the vocabulary with each unit. I like to try to give my students a picture to go along with each word. We take a quiz on the vocabulary and I create a word wall in my room to refer to. It provides them a better understanding in the concepts of algebra.
What do you do when you make a small arithmetic error while teaching? Do you humbly acknowledge it and move on?
I definitely acknowledge it! It makes me, being a teacher of special education students, happy that they were able to catch my mistake. If they didn’t, I will still stop and use it as a teachable moment. I let them know that they may make mistakes like this too and discuss why it was made. My students know that making errors is part of math and that is why I work so hard at emphasizing the need to check their own work.
Hi,
I have found that whenever I make a mistake while tutoring algebra, both I and the student work through the mistake. Kids are not stupid, they know when a mistake is made, so I acknowledge the mistake, ask the student to help me work through it and we both learn from the mistake. I found that this approach helps kids to restore some trust in adults; that teachers/tutors can make mistakes and that it is OK. I hope this helps.
Comment by cecilia — May 24, 2009 @ 7:19 am
One commissioned study has indicated that laptop use during class did not help with grade improvement in algebra, and because of the nature of algebara being abstract, could we draw a preliminary conclustion that, computers tend to increase visual effects mostly? What’s your thought on that?
Thanks.
Comment by Don Li — May 24, 2009 @ 7:37 am