What Are the Top Math Resources for Teachers Online?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around identifying and sharing online resources for math teachers. Participants explore various websites, tools, and educational strategies that can enhance math teaching and learning, with a focus on both general resources and specific pedagogical approaches.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share links to various math teaching resources, including lesson plans and activities from sites like math.com and NCTM.
  • One participant discusses the impact of Uri Treisman's work on improving calculus learning for minority students, emphasizing the importance of adapting study behaviors when transitioning from poor to elite educational environments.
  • Another participant agrees with the notion that students from poor schools may struggle in better schools due to a lack of preparation and study habits, suggesting that equal opportunities could lead to better outcomes.
  • Participants mention the creation of problem sessions as a strategy to encourage student engagement and collaboration, inspired by Treisman's model.
  • There is a request for recommendations on modern math software suitable for high school students, particularly for pre-algebra through calculus, indicating a need for updated educational tools.
  • Several participants highlight the importance of community and peer support in overcoming educational challenges faced by students from under-resourced backgrounds.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

While some participants express agreement on the challenges faced by students from poor schools and the need for supportive teaching strategies, there is no consensus on specific resources or methods that are universally effective. Multiple viewpoints regarding the best approaches and tools for math education are presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various educational theories and personal experiences, which may not be universally applicable. The discussion includes assumptions about student backgrounds and the effectiveness of different teaching strategies, which remain unverified.

Who May Find This Useful

Math educators, curriculum developers, and those interested in improving math teaching practices may find the shared resources and insights beneficial.

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The only person I know of who has really learned how to make a difference in student calculus learning in college is Uri Treisman. He successfully focused on turning around the low success rate of some minority students at Berkeley, and has produced probably more minority math PhD's than anyone else in America.

My take on his discovery is basically this: His unsuccessful minority students came from poor schools where they had nonetheless learned to succeed. It is hard to go from a poor school to a good school. The problem is you are not used to taking advantage of what the school offers, since the poor high school did not offer much. Being bright and motivated and well prepared do not count for enough when you go from a weak high school to a very high level elite college. You also have to be willing to work together with your peers and to take advantage of the extra learning opportunities these top schools offer. I.e. students coming from poor high schools do not have the right study behavior to succeed in good colleges. They are used to isolating themselves from other (they assume) poor students, and working alone. They also ignore available tutorials, assuming those are for "weak" students. So you have to learn how to behave at a school where most students are good students. Indeed I thought this theory could help explain why I myself, as an honors math student from a small school in the south, with high SAT scores but little real education, failed out of Harvard in 1961. I felt like an outsider there and thought I could do it all myself. Finally I quit trying and slid down the greasy pole. When I returned I finally learned to survive by studying at first with another classmate, and practicing old finals that were available in the library.

Last year I made the conjecture that since my state has notoriously weak high schools, most of my students are probably also unprepared for the study behavior required in the flagship state university. I also noted that they are often too shy to come to office hours. Hence I created problem sessions, instead of office hours, and I held them in a classroom instead of my scary office. I also scheduled them carefully every day at different times, so that every student could attend at least one a week. I circulated the email list to the class so they could get in touch with each other for help. Then following Treisman's model we also worked some of the more difficult problems in the problem sessions, not just the easy ones. The sessions did seem to help. Of course they also took up twice as much of my time as usual!

Here is a link to Treisman's speech on his experience and his discoveries:
http://bfc.sfsu.edu/cgi-bin/prob.pl?Uri_Treismans_Dolciani_Lecture
 
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Likes   Reactions: Math100, MidgetDwarf, Nazmulislamrony and 2 others
I am agree what you said about poor school student and good school student. If poor school student get same opportunity like good school student then they will able to do good result and they will be able to same understand. I am agree with you. Thank you for nice speech. Keep it up.
 
Here is a good blog about math education. There are a lot of articles on a variety of topics for teachers trying to teach math to students.

http://blogs.ams.org/matheducation/
 
What is the best modern math software for pre-algebra through calculus? I used to use math advantage delux but it is 16 bit software and only works on oracle and not that well. Is there any modern software that takes you through these topics so that a motivated high school student could clep out of remedial math in order to be at a more advanced place when they graduate.
 

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