Student Guide Corner

I read recently an opinion column that stated the obvious:   Americans have become very angry people.  And, it is not just the recent election.  For months (well, more like years), news reports have conveyed an ongoing story:  People across this country are angry and upset for one reason or another.  I am not here to judge whether such feelings are justified.  That is not my point.  I just find the current level of anger especially sad since we are not involved in a world war that is killing millions or trying to live through the horrors of the Great Depression or having to watch our children perish with the bubonic plague or living with rampant inflation that makes our money worthless before we can spend it. I think one reason for such universal anger is that most people simply don�t feel appreciated.  That is a basic human need that we tend to overlook in our daily lives.  People need to feel that their efforts have been noticed. ...

By Dana Ernst ,  Contributing Editor,   Northern Arizona University Have you ever had a student who could recite a definition or theorem word for word, but didn�t really know what it meant? Students often memorized a snippet of mathematical content without understanding where and how it applies. According to Bloom's Taxonomy , these students have only reached the the first level in the taxonomy--recalling facts and basic concepts. Ideally, we want our students to reach higher levels in the taxonomy such as using information in new situations or producing new original work. In today�s world we need individuals that are capable of asking and exploring questions in contexts that do not yet exist and to be able to tackle problems they have never encountered . The question is, can we, the instructors, work toward this? There is a small change we can make to ensure students are progressing on Bloom�s scale and developing the habits of mind of a mathematician: encourage our student...

My good friend C. J. Skender is an outstanding teacher at UNC (and genuinely nice guy).  He recently sent me a sheet of �Forever� stamps for my birthday that celebrated the work of Jaime Escalante.  You might already know about Jaime Escalante but, if not, I�ll talk a bit about him at the end of this blog posting. I often have people ask for advice about teaching and I try my best to say something that might be insightful and helpful.   Unfortunately, it is often hit or miss.  But there is one piece of advice that I really think is the ultimate piece of advice that every teacher needs to consider if they truly want to grow in their work with students. I was reminded of this by several things I read recently. Story One:   Carole Bayer Sager has been a well-known writer of popular songs since the 1970s.  Her hits include �Don�t Say You Love Me,� �Arthur�s Theme,� �Groovy Kind of Love,� and �That�s What Friends Are For.�   She recently published...

I had actually planned to write an entirely different blog this afternoon.   Had it all sketched out and ready to go based on something I read recently in the Wall Street Journal .   But, I received emails from two former students over the last four days and heard a third say something particularly interesting during a recent panel discussion.  All three of them made me start thinking about what I truly wanted for my students.  So, I decided to defer my original essay for a week or two and let my mind wander in a different direction. College officials often say that one of the main purposes of a college education is to create well-rounded individuals who can lead meaningful and productive lives.  Gosh, who could possibly argue against that goal?   We are not training robots.   We are teaching flesh and blood people.   If we have any human feelings, we absolutely must want our students to live happy and fulfilled lives....

By Rejoice Mudzimiri ,  Contributing Editor,   University of Washington Bothell Last week Teaching Tidbits covered the Mid-Semester Evaluation, so now it is time to examine another tool that helps teachers assess class comprehension. We give you: the exit ticket. What are Exit Tickets? An exit ticket is an ungraded, short form of assessment administered at the end of class as students are �exiting� the classroom. Exit tickets help �to consolidate information and bring closure to the big ideas or concepts presented� during a lesson, according to the book Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6-12 . Using Exit Ticket Data  Data from exit tickets can be analyzed for evidence of students� mastery of the content objectives, helping instructors have a good sense of how well the lesson went. You can then use this information to adapt instruction to meet the needs of your students. In addition to the content specific questions such as,...