Let's explore a lesson using an upside-down approach to teach math.  It is basically the opposite from the traditional I-do-you-do approach, where the teacher lectures the class with a specific way to solve a problem depending on the content, and students repeat the same steps the teacher just showed, but using different numbers. In this … Continue reading Using a Student-Centered-Approach in Your Math Lesson →

As teachers, we continue to learn new approaches to explore mathematics and are faced with new opportunities to provide the best learning experiences for our students. We are constantly participating in different professional learning to keep our teaching practices in line with the most up-to-date research on how students best learn. We collaborate constantly with … Continue reading That Day We Added It All Up 那一天，我们聚在一起学数学 →

If you are introducing fractions in your class, allow students to use unifix cubes to make sense of what fractions really are and look like. You can start with fractions that have the same denominators so students understand that the whole is made of a number of parts. A fraction is part of a whole. … Continue reading Making Sense of Adding Fractions →

I have been teaching for about 29 years. Most of those years in elementary. Math has always been my most favorite class to teach, but as most teachers did in the past, I used the I-do-you-do approach. I did my best at explaining how to solve problems using manipulatives and pictures, and quickly moved into … Continue reading What does re-grouping really mean? →