This presentation, built yesterday, is my philosophical argument for why we should be actively pursuing games as a way to teach algebra. In fact, you’ll find that many of the definitions of games and game design principles...
Read MoreThanks to Diane, Gary, and Tom … who also contributed ideas to this classroom redesign project idea. Objective: Create classroom spaces specifically for a) actively learning mathematics and b) using technology to...
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In this post we liken finding the prime number factorization to the nucleotides that make up a gene. Each prime number has a unique “prime fingerprint.”
Read MoreNote: I’ve kept this post to remind me that it always pays to be scrappy! In my Math for Elementary Teachers (MathET) course, we do a lot of work with math manipulatives, puzzles, and games of various sorts. Some...
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This post outlines how to use a CAS system with concept-oriented assignments instead of process-oriented assignments.
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This post covers topics important for a speaker in designing an effective webinar. This is an oldie but a goodie. I wouldn’t change anything.
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This post provides a strategy to deal with sorting and decluttering all the digital files you have laying around your computer.
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PenAttention is a little program that just places focus on the cursor. This is important when projecting to the screen of a classroom from a tablet.
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Do you ever get the feeling that you’re not making any real progress with your students? ...
Read MoreThe first time using blogs was a learning experience for both my students and for me. Here’s the rubric I developed for grading blogs after tightening up the requirements.
Read MoreThis is the first installment of what will likely be a 52-week series. The series is based on a conference/webinar presentation I’ve been doing for a while now called Organize Your Digital Self (OYDS). Perhaps...
Read MoreThis post discusses how instructors’ beliefs about educational practice are influenced by their self-experience, which is formed by their experiences as students and as practitioners in the classroom. The post notes that early experiences tend to form beliefs that are highly resistant to change and that people may avoid confronting contrary evidence or engaging in discussion that might harm these beliefs. Additionally, there is evidence that the greatest resistance to change in academia comes from cohort effects, which form during an individual’s coming of age in academia. To address this, the post suggests creating professional development programs for experienced faculty to help them gain a fresh perspective on teaching and learning.
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