MFA 2025 Mathematical Narratives by Aris Winger

2025-03-17 22:31:26 UTC

Calling on students who have the answer earlier rather than waiting for other students.

Gate-keeping

2025-03-17 22:31:28 UTC

It feels like another tool to close doors for people rather than open for all.

giving effusive praise to students that do fast mental math

2025-03-17 22:31:36 UTC

2025-03-17 22:31:38 UTC

hopefully this is an outdated view of math instruction.

2025-03-17 22:31:48 UTC

I dont agree with this and yet i do this very thing. I have 40 minutes to get through the lesson and move on to tomorrow's lesson and so there is very little time to chew on the problem or explore the best 'wrong answers'

2025-03-17 22:31:58 UTC

Yikes. This still happens?

2025-03-17 22:32:06 UTC

A student today told me that he likes when the smart kids help him - I asked him what smart meant - he said it was when the kids can do the problems quickly

Blurters take away other's opportunities to think.

laurie23 — 2025-03-17 22:32:09 UTC

Anti-growth mindset

2025-03-17 22:32:12 UTC

Some of the most important lessons in life are learned through struggle.

2025-03-17 22:32:13 UTC

This works if students are participating in a math competition.

SOOO FRUSTRATING.

2025-03-17 22:32:21 UTC

My daughter has ADHD and literally cannot quickly answer ANY question, in math or any other subject. She has told me she thinks she's bad at math because she's so slow and everyone else knows the answer and she doesn't. I asked if her teachers give think time and she had no idea what I was talking about. :( :( :(

2025-03-17 22:32:41 UTC

It's so difficult to get out of this mindset even with the awareness of this narrative - even saying something like "this is a common mistake" signals to students that a mistake is something to avoid rather than explore.

2025-03-17 22:32:41 UTC

Mistakes are valuable.

2025-03-17 22:32:51 UTC

I take my time completing work because I need more time to process, but those that finish things fast make me uncomfortable.

If you are going fast and getting correct answers, you already know it or how to do it. Brain growth happens when you struggle, so faster is better encourages students to not think deeply and learn.

2025-03-17 22:33:10 UTC

2025-03-17 22:33:20 UTC

i try to encourage students to share the by saying thats the 'incorrect' answer i was looking for.

Kids become quiet rather than be wrong.

laurie23 — 2025-03-17 22:33:21 UTC

2025-03-17 22:33:37 UTC

Still, there is something incredibly important about fluency. At a point, you MUST know certain concepts as facts if you are going to grasp larger concepts. If you have to learn how to use a hammer again every time you pick one up, you'll never finish the buidling. Numeracy is learned but at some point needs to become a tool that you can simply use.

We deal with that head on...

2025-03-17 22:33:46 UTC

...with Jo Boaler's videos and inspirational math activites at the beginning of the year. We talk about it throughout the year. ...And the kids STILL shy away from mistakes!

They encourage students to think that school is about already knowing, rather then learning. This makes school kind of anti learning

2025-03-17 22:34:16 UTC

Kids are scared of mistakes

2025-03-17 22:34:19 UTC

and kids who can't calculate quickly think they are "bad at math."

2025-03-17 22:35:22 UTC

Mistakes are good and kids need to accept that.

2025-03-17 22:35:36 UTC

Reluctant to give extra time to students who come in late. (Talking first period late, 15-45 minutes late in a 55 min class). While I do believe students should take all the time they need on assessments, when the period ends and they're still working, I ask them to finish at lunch. They've then seen the problems and have the advantage of coming back to finish after seeing the problems.

I give stickers when students share an answer in whole-group math and it's wrong.

2025-03-17 22:35:42 UTC

"Great job! You showed us a mistake we might make and gave us something great to talk about!"

I stole this move from another teacher - feel free to steal and pass it along!

Interestingly, the kids who often get it right or work fast are often the kids who lose the most from this. They often aren't willing to try things that are hard and so they can become stagnant.

2025-03-17 22:36:02 UTC

2025-03-17 22:36:05 UTC

They refuse to try.

I love talking about how you must make a certin number of mistakes before you can learn a particular topic. Great, you just made one more of your 500 mistakes before you can learn... Let's keep going..

2025-03-17 22:37:28 UTC

2025-03-17 22:37:38 UTC

In my school I notice that teachers that teach advanced classes get more frustrated with executive functioning issues more than difficulty with concepts, because it makes it difficult for kids to stay on top of work or even attempt the work (since they lose it or forget to do it). I think we are all frustrated because there is generally a lack of good executive functioning skills modeled in the school. If the school does not feel organized, then how can students?

2025-03-17 22:38:20 UTC

making mistakes it's a natural part of learning and growth, allowing us to identify areas for improvement.

2025-03-17 22:43:39 UTC

Students don't try harder and are afraid to take risks.

2025-03-17 22:46:06 UTC

There's can also be a false narrative about kids who always finish their work being smarter (vs kids who take more time to explore the problem deeply, hence doing as much or more of the thinking, but who may not necessarily finish the whole activity)