I often ask my students this question during class and, needless to say, there are usually puzzled little faces staring back at me like, “What??...” I get this look in my math class, whether I’m speaking Spanish or plain ol’ English, on a daily basis. But I noticed an unsettling number of students, even my “good” students, asking several questions and feeling defeated with word problems in math. The students moan and groan when they’re asked to write something for class, read aloud, or reword directions and concepts in their own words. And the root of this problem is…comprehension! The student’s don’t comprehend well. Yes, many of them can read the words, but they’re doing exactly that… Just reading words. In math, comprehending what word problems are asking is crucial, if not the main freakin’ purpose.
So what can I do? How can I get my students to THINK? To pick out pieces of a word problem, comprehend what’s being asked, apply what they’ve learned in class, and solve the problem? Once again, I felt that this chapter didn’t really help me as a math teacher. There were some useful points in the chapter, like the outline of what skilled readers are able to accomplish after reading a passage, or word problem, but how can I get my students to that point? Not to mention, I teach middle schoolers. I felt many of the strategies mentioned are geared towards high school teachers. Even some of the strategies mentioned in our MTC training isn’t always helpful because of the prevalence of high school placements.
One method I’ve used for comprehending is the Whole Brain “Teach, OK!” (See link.) http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/Whole-Brain-Teching/First-Steps/Whole-Brain-Developer-Teach-OK.html
I also allow students to teach various lessons and to teach one another. So far, I’ve had success with these methods, but I need something more to reach the students that think Whole Brain Teaching methods are “lame.”
Despite my frustration with the chapter, it was interesting to read and I could definitely pass the information on to my fellow high school teachers, specifically the English teachers. Also, I wouldn’t mind teaching various subjects, later in life, so learning about different teaching techniques and strategies is something I’ve come to enjoy in my free time! (The little I have, lol) :)
