Math For Real!

As I sat here choosing resources about real world math, I thought about "the" question students ask every year: "When will I ever use this math in my life?" As a student, I’m sure I wondered the same thing, but when I think about it now, I have a hard time thinking of a part of life that is not touched by one form of math or another. Math has a funny way of sneaking into every corner and crevice of life, and good math teachers make sure their students can recognize the math in the world around them.

Although I believe that school (and thus: math class) is a part of this "real life" we so often talk about in the education world, making the connection between math IN school and math OUTSIDE of school can be a little tricky. Joann’s post this week presents three good real world math resources, and is linked at the bottom of this post. Our Gateway Facebook and Twitter pages will have real world math posts all week, so if you don’t already follow us on those sites, please do.

When students can relate to a topic they are studying, they are much more likely to be interested and engaged in that topic. Because of this, I have spent a lot of time thinking and writing about how to help students relate the topics they are studying to this elusive “real world.” Three of my posts seemed relevant to this week’s topic.

In Teaching in the Real World…or The Missing Piece, I suggest that a real-world connection is often the “missing piece” in a teacher’s otherwise perfect presentation of a topic. I also discuss creating a network of educators (known as a PLN) where you can share ideas and discuss ways to connect your lessons to the real world. A good network of teachers can be very helpful and inspiring. The network can be in-person, or it can include teachers from all over the world who converse online. This particular post is about geometry, although the ideas are relevant for just about any subject area.

T.C.B.A. (This Can’t be Algebra) discusses how to connect algebra with students’ everyday lives. Although some students may not believe it, algebra is everywhere. The post includes some fun Gateway links with algebra activities that will wow and entertain your students while teaching them important skills.

Some kids (often girls) cave into peer pressure telling them that math is too hard. In Math Class is Tough! I discuss ways to overcome this paradigm, including some fun activities. Activities in this post are based on art and pattern building. These activities are fun for students and teachers. Teachers can set a good example by enjoying math themselves, so it’s nice to find activities that are fun for all ages.

Sometimes, when you have students who are ahead or uninterested in a topic, it takes a special effort to create motivation. Vi Hart has a really interesting series of YouTube videos that connect math and doodling. She explains very complex math topics through doodling, presenting her doodles as drawings she has done when her math teacher was boring her. Her videos are mostly on topics useful for high school students, but I watched Infinity Elephants with a second grader who was enthralled by it. She knew nothing about infinite series, but the way Vi Hart explained them kept her interested and piqued her curiosity.

I found out about the Vi Hart videos from another really neat site: Art of Problem Solving. This site is very useful for students who need an extra challenge. The site has a real-time math competition modeled after the national MathCounts program. It is also a community for students with strong math skills.

Since a curious teacher helps inspire curiosity in students, I am also including links to a couple of interesting TED Talks about math. There are many more you might find useful. Just search for math on the TED Talks page. The first one I watched was by Conrad Wolfram, who talked about teaching math with computers. The second talk I watched was by Geoffrey West, who discussed the surprising math of cities and corporations. When you watch either of these, you will see more math video suggestions on the right. Hopefully you will find something inspiring.

They say that curiosity killed the cat, but I think it’s the lack of curiosity that kills the fun in math. Let’s make it real to make it interesting. Good luck, and we’d love to hear from you!