In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis talk about teaching strategies for remembering in mathematics, such as mnemonic devices, tricks, and gimmicks. 

They challenge the notion that teaching with tricks is inherently bad, and discuss how to determine when a strategy intended to help students learn might actually work against their understanding of the underlying mathematics. For instance, “FOIL” and “SOH-CAH-TOA” are both frequently taught in high school math classes, yet one is a way to remember mathematical definitions (not a trick!) and the other is a random association for a limited procedure (a trick!). So what about if a student creates their own strategy or trick while learning math?  

Join our hosts in trying to make sense of how and when remembering strategies are helpful and when they might be more harmful.

We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:

• Nix the Tricks – available to download for free
• Thirteen Rules that Expire is an article from Teaching Children Mathematics (NCTM membership required) about commonly taught ideas in elementary school that don’t support long-term learning. This blog about the article does not require NCTM membership.
• Twelve Math Rules that Expire in the Middle Grades is a similar publication from Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School (NCTM membership required) with middle school-specific ideas.
• This EdWeek article includes a commentary from Dr. Hilary Kreisberg about “nixing tricks.”

Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing [email protected]. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.