2. Make the World Safe for Math
Learning math fills some students-and adults with self-consciousness dread Factoids Two-thirds of American adults far and loathe math (Bums, 1998). After years of failure or frustration, too many students take the first exit ramp off the math highway.
Good projects revive interest in math increase purposeful engagement.
Meaningful projects help students see that their efforts add to something significant. Projects help students up recognize that they can interact with the world mathematically Because attitudes influence achievement, it makes sense to attend not only to math curriculum and pedagogy but to the social and affective aspects of math as well. Many students and parents) believe mathematicians are bom,
not made. Imagine:
Parents of an eighth grader attend conference night early in the school year. The algebra teacher explains that their daughter struggling in math.
The parents say, "Ch, that runs in the family. None of us is good at math."
What does this tell us about the context in which their child is learning math? Let's recast the scenario. Same parents, same child, but the language arts teacher is explaining that their child is struggling to read.
The parents show great concern. They don't say oh, that runs in our family. None of us can read!" Culturally, it is permissible to be poor at math, but who admits to not being able to read? Low expectations lead to low achievement in math(Flores, 2007). It takes expert teaching. encouragement, and sometimes a serious marketing campaign to tum that thinking around. Turn around parents' thinking. Help parents understand your inten- tions for teaching math through projects. Explain that, through projects, their children will develop the capacity to define and solve problems with reason, insight. inventiveness, and technical proficiency. Tell them stu dents learning will mirror authentic work in which math is important and that makes math relevant now and useful in the long term. Math profi ciency is a gateway to rewarding professions such as medicine, computer science, engineering, and finance. Let parents know that through pr students will build on and make connections among mathematical con cepts and find the connections between math and other subjects Present examples of projects the class will do. Deconstruct one to show its rigor and the concepts and skills students will learn through doing it Present a rubric so parents can see how your expectations for learning map to the school curriculum. Help parents become as excited about your proj ects as their children will be. Invite parents into projects. Ask them to participate as experts, class room helpers, and field trip chaperones. Send updates and encourage parents to talk with their children about projects at home. Post announce- ments, student testimonials, and pictures to a project b Reshape students' thinking, too. Some students believe only certain people have an aptitude for math and that a natural affinity or love for math is necessary for moving ahead in the subject. Let students know they don't have to be"math whizzes" to do well in it. Hard work, rather than some inborn talent, is the true discriminating factor that leads to success in math and all the doors thaf math ability opens. The very act of adopting the project approach upsets the old paradigm in which math is a strictly structured activity that yields single right answers and is done on one's own. For many students, math projects rep resent a new chance at math. Any math anxie ty or defeatist attitudes t come in with are erased when students are presented with an engaging project and encouraged to proceed in inventive and collaborative ways High-achieving students benefit from projects too. Because projects have no upper limit, it is less likely that accomplished students will go unchal lenged and become bored or disinterested in math Many small acts can make your classroom safe for math