Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 28.  Today we are looking at Teaching Mathematics through Problem Solving.

Unfortunately, what we think of about Problem Solving has greatly been influenced by textbooks (just another reason why I’m not a fan of them).  If you open up almost any elementary math textbook you will find lessons on Problem Solving. These lessons are well-meaning but they try to teach students steps to follow when solving problems.  This has always bugged me and I wasn’t quite sure how to express why until I read it in the book Teaching Mathematics through Problem Solving which is a publication of NCTM and was edited by Frank K. Lester Jr. Get all the info here: buildmathminds.com/28

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 27.  Today we are looking at Using Kids’ Intuitive Mathematical Reasoning

If you follow my blog, The Recovering Traditionalist, then you know that I’m doing a series of videos to kick off the school year all about how and why to teach math without a textbook.

One of the biggest influences on my belief about teaching math without a textbook is the research of Cognitively Guided Instruction.  One of the very first episodes of this podcast was about the book Children’s Mathematics: Cognitively Guided Instruction. 

For this episode I want to direct you to a research article by some of the same authors. Plus, I’ve got a special download for you to help you teach elementary math without a textbook.  Get all the info here: buildmathminds.com/27 

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 26. Today we are looking at Adding It Up.

It’s the start of the school year here in the U.S and for many educators that means a new math textbook. As I was reading back through the book Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics for my recent vlog post I was reminded why I really don’t like textbooks.

I believe they give everyone, the principal, the teacher, the parents, and so on a false sense of comfort.

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 25, where we are going to get inspiration and information from Carri Naumann-Monti, an Educational Therapist who works with students who have language-based learning differences. Go to the show notes to get all the links: buildmathminds.com/25

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 24. Today we are discussing Exceptionally Bright Children.

Ok, so I’m just going to say this upfront that this episode may go a bit longer than my normal book insight episodes and I’m going to try not to cry while doing this. I’m going to tell a personal story before I get into the book I want to talk about because I bet you probably have a child like my son in your classroom.

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 23. Today we are looking at creating a Bottoms Up Hundred Chart.

Today’s insight comes from the article Bottoms Up Hundred Chart? by Jennifer Bay-Williams and Graham Fletcher. As you start to prepare for school to start back up, a common thing in elementary classrooms is the Hundred Chart. There are things I don’t like about using a hundred chart, but one thing they are great for is investigating patterns.

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 22. Today we get insight into how Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic.

Today’s insight comes from the book Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic: Implications of Piaget’s Theory (second edition) by Constance Kamii.

I get asked a lot how to help kids with subtraction and my answer is consistently, work more on addition. This may seem harsh that I don’t think we should be teaching kids strategies to solve subtraction,

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 21 where we are going to get Inspiration & Information from Jennifer Lagrange, a Kinder/1st grade dual language teacher.

Jennifer shares her journey to becoming a Recovering Traditionalist. Get all the details and show notes at buildmathminds.com/21.

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 20.  Today we are looking at some of the best PD at Your Fingertips.

Today’s episode is a bit different. Each summer I bring together some of the best math education presenters to do a completely free online conference for elementary teachers.  I call it the Virtual Math Summit.

The 2019 Virtual Math Summit starts tomorrow, Monday July 29.

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 19. Today we are investigating The Impact of Elementary Math Specialists.

Today’s insight comes from an article published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in their journal Teaching Children Mathematics. The article, “Elementary Mathematics Specialists: Influencing Student Achievement” by Patricia Campbell and Nathaniel Malkus summarizes a 3 year study of the affect elementary math specialists had on students’ score.