Effective Strategies for Teaching Middle School Math

chillibreeze writer — Nandita Srinivasan

Growing up in urban India, I have had the luxury of a complete and formal education. I have learned that education is a not only about teaching academic subjects, but also developing one’s personality so that after leaving school an individual possesses not only basic skills and knowledge, but also has a disciplined and practical mind.

I firmly believe that the best way to learn is to teach, and one continues to learn all through one’s life. My philosophy of education is based on making learning a fun-filled journey where explanations of basic concepts are made easier and the students not only learn the subject but also find out how it relates to other subjects and to the world outside. The key is to relate to the ‘audience’ by starting from what they know and building upon it.

Math is fundamental to our daily lives. We use it every day in a variety of ways, and most often we don't even think about the fact that we are using math skills. This same principal can work for teaching math skills to young students, especially those who are intimidated or lack interest in math. Below are some techniques that can make teaching mathematical concepts interesting:

A. Effective Lesson Plan
Planning and designing effective lessons is the blueprint for success of the teacher and students in the classroom. Designing a lesson plan for math is a challenging task. The very mention of sitting down to solve a math problem could be a tough ask for some kids.

A typical lesson plan should include the following:

1. Objective: objectives indicate what the result of a lesson will be. The objectives should be stated in specific terms and should have clarity.

2. Warm up activity: This helps to assess students' prior knowledge before beginning a new concept to determine exactly what needs to be reviewed or introduced. Creating anticipation allows the students to switch gears mentally from what they were doing before a class to the concept they are going to learn in class. Simple games and activities often do the trick.

3. Teacher input (guided practice): Input of a teacher is necessary for successful lessons. Guided practice should include activities that appeal to students with varied learning styles and questions that stimulate critical thinking.

4. Classroom assessment: The plan should include a variety of small assessments to check students’ mastery of concept before a test.

5. Closure: Revising the concept and encouraging the students to ask questions helps them to recall the beginning and ending of lesson with clarity.

6. Homework: Assignments should be designed to reinforce the concept learned during the class.

B. Game Hour
The teacher should plan for a weekly game hour. Engaging students in classroom games is a positive learning experience as they provide opportunities for interaction and immediate feedback. Selecting and applying mathematics to games that students enjoy will generate desired interest and attention.

The internet is also a source to finding such games. You can find some effective examples at the following websites:
o www.otb-games.com
o www.boardgames.com
o http://school.discovery.com/brainboosters
o www.learn-with-math-games.com

C. Guided group work and Peer tutoring
During my past experience as a math volunteer for a school in Austin, I was amazed to watch the children learn and share concepts rapidly when in groups. For group work to be successful, the teacher should design activities that will encourage students to collaborate with each other. When students work together, both the person learning and the tutor can benefit.

D. Taking help of technology
Students should be introduced to wide variety of math tools and resources available on the internet. This allows them to visualize and explore math concepts.

E. Positive reinforcements for motivation
This is the most powerful technique in education. Positive reinforcement sets a supportive tone that allows the student to see connection between the efforts they put in and the results they obtain. On understanding a concept, rewarding the student for an excellent work can be satisfying. Some of the best rewards are:

o A word of praise in front of the class
o Positive note to take home
o Extra time on computer
o Time for independent reading
o Being the student of the week

I believe that the role of a teacher (irrespective of the subject taught) is that of a leader. S/he should be totally involved with the class, encourage the students, arouse their interest in the subject, and create an environment conducive to learning.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in March, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Nandita has an Engineering degree in Electronics and Communication. She was working as a Software Engineer in India before moving to Austin where she decided to pursue her long cherished dream of teaching and sharing knowledge with students. She has chosen Mathematics as her prime area of interest and she currently works as a part time math instructor. She has also worked on validating teaching tools in the past.

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