Learning to Love Math : Teaching Strategies That Change Student Attitudes and Get Results

Is there a way to get students to love math? Dr. Judy Willis responds with an emphatic yes in this informative guide to getting better results in math class. Tapping into abundant research on how the brain works, Willis presents a practical approach for how we can improve academic results by demonstrating certain behaviors and teaching students in a way that minimizes negativity. With a straightforward and accessible style, Willis shares the knowledge and experience she has gained through her dual careers as a math teacher and a neurologist. In addition to learning basic brain anatomy and function, readers will learn how to * Improve deep-seated negative attitudes toward math. * Plan lessons with the goal of "achievable challenge" in mind. * Reduce mistake anxiety with techniques such as errorless math and estimation. * Teach to different individual learning strengths and skill levels. * Spark motivation. * Relate math to students' personal interests and goals. * Support students in setting short-term and long-term goals. * Convince students that they can change their intelligence. With dozens of strategies teachers can use right now, Learning to Love Math puts the power of research directly into the hands of educators. A Brain Owner's Manual, which dives deeper into the structure and function of the brain, is also included—providing a clear explanation of how memories are formed and how skills are learned. With informed teachers guiding them, students will discover that they can build a better brain . . . and learn to love math! Has it ever seemed to you that some students are hardwired to dislike math? If so, then here's a book that explains how negative attitudes toward math get established in the brain and what you can do to turn those attitudes around. Math teacher and neurologist Judy Willis gives you over 50 strategies you can use right away in any grade level to: (1) Rehabilitate negative attitudes about math; (2) Reduce mistake anxiety; and (3) Relate math to students' interests and goals. Find out how a better understanding of your students' brains can help you build foundational skills in math and other subjects and develop your students' long-term memory of academic concepts. Explore classroom interventions that help you: (1) Change your students' math intelligences by incorporating relaxation techniques, humor, visuals, and stories into your teaching; (2) Eliminate stress and increase motivation to learn math by using errorless math, estimation, and achievable challenges; and (3) Differentiate your strategies to students' skill levels by using scaffolds, flexible grouping, and multisensory input. Find out how a better understanding of your students' brains can help you build foundational skills in math and other subjects and develop your students' long-term memory of academic concepts Dr. Judy Willis presents this informative guide to getting better results in math class. Willis presents a practical approach for how we can improve academic results by demonstrating certain behaviors and teaching students in a way that minimizes negativity