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7 Student-Centred Learning Strategies in Maths
Recently, I have been experimenting with student-centred teaching and learning strategies in Maths class. Student-centred learning is an approach to education that places the learner in an active role in the classroom. The teacher then becomes the facilitator of learning. I have found that this model of teaching requires a much higher degree of classroom management than traditional methods, however, ripples with immense benefits to the learning culture of the class. There are immediate signs of increased student engagement and autonomy. It is well worth the efforts in planning and implementation. Its success is influenced by the teacher knowing each learner’s needs, managing the classroom effectively and expecting the most…
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16 Tips for Beginning Teachers
Recently, I was asked to speak with a class of Mathematics students who were finishing their teaching degree at a local university. These students were about to embark upon their first year of teaching. I thought to myself, “What would I share?“. What could I tell these bright-eyed individuals that might make a difference to their practice? What would have resonated with me back when I was sitting in their seats? It was the short, sweet & raw advice that I remembered (No filter!). So here are my top tips for beginning teachers!
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Maths City Project
After I finish teaching a topic, I like to give my students an opportunity to create a piece of work that combines ideas and concepts learnt in the topic. I have especially enjoyed this small project with my younger students. Not only will your students work collaboratively with others, but you will end up with a magnificent classroom display that enhances your learning space to become more positive and welcoming. After seeing my classroom display, other teachers have asked for me to run the project with their class, hence, I’ve decided to upload all the resources I’ve used so that any teacher can pick up these instructions and hit the…
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How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegre
Disclaimer: I draw connections between Dale Carnegre’s book and teaching. This piece is also a reflection on how the book helps me to understand my own environment. Behavioural psychology is fascinating to us all. What makes each person tick? Why are some people more successful than others? How do I become more influential?
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Teaching kids about $$$
Last year, myself and two colleagues conducted empathy interviews with high school students. The aim of the interviews was to gain a better understanding of what was important to our students. The interviews were conducted as part of a UTS workshop about implementing project based learning at school.
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Why do two negatives make a positive?
Let us first consider two examples. How did you get to your answer? How would you describe your method to another person?
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12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson
This book is profound and is enlightening for the reader. Peterson’s words resonate with us because they are fined tuned towards speaking the truth. Seeking truth is one of the most, if not the most human aspiration. A delightful and entertaining read about narratives true to all people on God’s Earth. Each time I read a passage, different points stand out to me and my preferences are dynamically changing. Here are my top Peterson picks as of Jan 2019!
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Rewards and Consequences in the classroom
Let’s talk rewards and consequences!
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Report writing tip to improve productivity
Writing student comments for reports can be time consuming and repetitive. I’ve introduced a formula in Microsoft Excel to speed this process up for myself. The idea is to use student data from the relevant assessment tasks to produce a glossary of words or performance descriptors that can be used to describe that student’s performance in the task. The performance descriptors that I’ve used this year are a standardised set of words approved by my school.
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Teaching Energy and Circuits
Want to know how much knowledge you have on a topic? Try teaching it!
