Blame the Unicorn

In a previous post , I discussed how remediation and intervention are different. The difference between these two concepts is so great and so important that I feel it necessary to explain why this difference matters. To illustrate these differences, let's look at two different students.   Melissa  Melissa has always been an A/B student. Though she has never been in the top of the class, she has always managed to get by. She doesn't love math, but she realizes its importance in her life. Melissa's parents are available to help her with her homework, and she feels comfortable receiving extra help from her teachers. When Melissa got to middle school, however, she was struggling to keep up. The concepts were moving too fast for her, and switching classes made it difficult for her to get the help she needed. The problems were now requiring her to integrate several math concepts at one time, whereas Melissa had previously only needed to memorize a few ideas at...

In a previous post about  learning gaps , I expressed that the key to math intervention is recognizing the need to find students' gaps. All students come to middle school math with at least one puzzle piece missing, but some students have so many missing pieces that it becomes impossible to be successful in math. The blame for these gaps tends to get placed in two ways: 1. Elementary teachers are incompetent in math, and, because of this, they have not adequately prepared their students for higher math. 2. The students are lazy and do not try. Let's address these two issues before I present my understanding of math learning gaps. 1. Is it true that many elementary teachers are not the best at math? Absolutely! I have known truly fabulous, outstanding teachers who still struggle with multiplication and add with their fingers. And in fact, elementary education is a major of choice for them, because of its lack of rigorous math requirements. Is...

The most important part of any math intervention is finding a way to motivate students so they want to try. Intuitively, we know that most math teachers were good at math as students, and sometimes it's hard for us to understand how very difficult math can be for many students. Teachers feel frustrated, because they know these struggling students are bright and capable of learning, if they would only try. What we fail to understand as teachers, is that ALL students have tried, at some point in their life. Most students have tried very, very hard, but after years of faliure , they have given up. It is human nature to quit things that are hard for us, and it takes a significant amount of perseverance to continue to try and fail, and try and fail. Think about it: When was the last time you spent hours a week doing something you hated? Something that frustrated you to tears? Something that, when you put all your effort into, you still failed? My students know that I am good at...

One of the most common frustrations heard from secondary math teachers: HE SHOULD ALREADY KNOW THIS! HOW CAN I TEACH HIM IF HE DOESN'T HAVE HIS BASIC SKILLS?!?! In a typical math classroom, all students learn the same thing on the same day. This makes practical sense - it allows for standards to be covered in a timely manner; teachers only need to create one lesson a day. It is very difficult for teachers to manage small groups or individualized lessons. This type of lesson planning is effective for 80% - 85% of students. But what happens to the other 15% -20%, who are lacking the significant skills necessary to understand the new lesson? They sit there BORED, DISENGAGED, CREATING DISTRACTIONS . Many math teachers (secondary or otherwise) do not know how to help students who are missing major pieces of their math education. Students are sent to tutorials where teachers walk them through the current topic, often holding their hand through each step. Students white-knuckl...