Mistakes Are Important

In math mistakes are an important part of success. Teachers should move away from the more traditional approach of teaching where students are afraid to make mistakes and fear asking questions because they do not want to look "foolish". Well questions and mistakes should be encouraged because that is an important stepping stone in learning. It is important that teachers change the way we encourage students and reward their efforts and hard work by saying compliments such as "You worked so hard, I am so proud of you" as opposed to "You're so smart" An effective video for demonstrating this concept is the Meet the Robinsons, You Failed! video available off of Youtube.




As educators it is important to use letters in equations that apply to the questions being asked. Instead of using X and Y because how many words really start with X and Y? We can use letters such as b for blocks or c for cats and so on. Students start to really understand proportional reasoning when they look at patterns with scenarios and examine the relationships in these problems. Incorporating the use of the smart board in math can also be useful for students to get engaged in their learning. For example one can explain mathematical vocabulary such as output, constant, and variable with visuals on the smart board such as demonstrated in the photo below.

Teaching students concepts such as what is increasing by the same amount each time? And therefore that would be your constant is an easier way of understanding functions than simply memorizing formulas and equations because then students have a much deeper understanding of equations and how to formulate one themselves.