Learning from Voices in Classrooms

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-160
Author(s):  
Signe E. Kastberg ◽  
Wendy Otoupal-Hylton
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Second Career ◽  
Working Together

Wendy and i met and began working together in hopes of finding some consistency in what we each saw as our chaotic lives. Wendy began her second career in 2002 as a middle-grades teacher. She was responsible for teaching six middle school mathematics classes. Each class of twenty-two to twentyeight students consisted of a mixture of grades 6, 7, and 8 students of varying abilities. Students entering grade 6 had Wendy as their mathematics teacher for three years. She quickly found traditional texts unsatisfying for her students and sought alternative curricula.

scholarly journals Literacy-Based Instructional Techniques for the Middle School Mathematics Teacher

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Nicole Parker ◽  
Janet Breitenstein ◽  
Cindy Jones
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
Mathematical Understanding ◽  
Disciplinary Literacy ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Instructional Techniques ◽  
Literacy Strategies ◽  
And Performance

Disciplinary literacy strategies in mathematics lessons are essential and may be embedded in three necessary parts of the lesson: before reading, during reading, and after reading. In this article, we highlight disciplinary literacy strategies that middle school mathematics teachers might implement to guide students to increased mathematical understanding and performance. 

Soundoff: Geometry: A Remedy for the Malaise of Middle School Mathematics

1989 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 678-680
Author(s):  
Alfred S. Posamentier
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
School Level ◽  
Mathematics Educators ◽  
Arithmetic Teaching ◽  
Middle School Level

Many mathematics educators perceive that the weakest part of the precollege mathematics curriculum is at the middle school level, more specifically, the years immediately preceding the study of algebra. It seems that in the middle grades the development of mathematics has been put into a “holding pattern.” A quick glance at the curriculum for seventh and eighth grades—or in some cases sixth and seventh gradesshows that much arithmetic is still being taught. Haven't we, or shouldn't we have, completed teaching arithmetic in the previous five or six years? Indeed, how much arithmetic teaching do we need to do in an age of ever-improving calculators (Heid 1988)? Very often students greet a unit in these grades with the now famous comment, “Oh, I had this already.” “Sure,” thinks the teacher, “you may have had it, but have you learned it?” It is clear to many educators that these middle grades are key to turning a student “on” to or “off” from mathematics.

Concentration: Connecting Fractions, Decimals, & Percents

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 324-328
Author(s):  
Elizabeth S. Sweeney ◽  
Robert J. Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Innovative Method ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

Fractions, Decimals, and Percents are often included in discussions about middle school mathematics. Unfortunately, these discussions also include groans of dissatisfaction, stemming from the lack of success that teachers often have in teaching these concepts. Many students fail to see the relationship among fractions, decimals, and percents. As one student put it, a decimal is “a thing that makes numbers even more confusing,” whereas another characterized a percent as “the way teachers give you points.” The fact that these topics are typically taught in isolation is the main source of dissatisfaction. Often, the only connection mentioned by textbooks is a cursory discussion of conversions. This article describes one innovative method that can help middle-grades students become more flexible in their ability to represent fractions, decimals, and percents, an outcome recommended by the NCTM's Standards.

Conceptualizing Discursive Teaching Capacity: A Case Study of a Middle School Mathematics Teacher

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Joong Kim ◽  
Jaehong Shin ◽  
Ji-Eun Lee ◽  
Woong Lim ◽  
Younhee Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics

The Missing Link? Writing in Mathematics Class!

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 316-320
Author(s):  
John G. Ciochine ◽  
Grace Polivka
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Writing In Mathematics ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
Mathematics Class

The last thing I ever thought I would be stressing in my mathematics classes is the use of writing as a tool for teaching mathematics. On entering the teaching field as a middle school mathematics teacher, I thought, “Give me a book and I will be ready to educate all my students.” Wow! Was I wrong! After realizing that I needed something more than a book, I began to read professional articles and to talk with my colleagues. One colleague suggested that I do some writing with my students. My first reaction was that I teach mathematics, not English. After her constant urging, I decided I would try it, although I was sure I would not like it. What I have found is an interesting way to approach middle school mathematics while helping students develop their communication and reasoning abilities.

Performing Operations with Matrices on Spreadsheets

1998 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 338-341
Author(s):  
Dusan Pagon
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Linear Algebra ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
Interested Reader ◽  
Basic Concepts

Although created mainly for other purposes, spreadsheets appear to be useful in mathematics education. For instance, Russell (1992) writes about spreadsheet activities in middle school mathematics in his book with the same title. In a Mathematics Teacher article, Hunt (1995) describes how he uses spreadsheets to teach students synthetic substitution, synthetic division, and Newton's method. Our experience shows that the same tool can be useful for performing matru operations and, further on, for introducing students to basic concepts of linear algebra. The interested reader can find additional examples of using spreadsheets in high school mathematics in Sjostrand's (1994) book, which deals with Excel spreadsheets.

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