This post is to go on about a comment that was made by Mr.
Anderson in his blog “the ultimate question of life the universe and everything”.
Learning would definitely be a lot less adversarial if
students could think about math positively! I feel as educators we need to
change the way we talk about math and be mindful of the language we use
surrounding the teaching and learning of math.
For example, perhaps we could regard “math problems” as “math puzzles”. I understand this may seem unusual and very
minimal in targeting student reluctance and hesitation to math, however word
associations are deep rooted in one’s thoughts and beliefs. The word problem is synonymous with the
following: dilemma, predicament, crisis, setback, and more, all of which can be
related to feelings of fear, difficulty, uncertainty, and trouble. The word puzzle on the other hand is
synonymous with riddle, mystery, brainteaser, ect, which often relates to
feelings of excitement, curiosity, and interest. The word puzzle has a more positive connotation
than the word problem. In my opinion
students would be more inclined and more interested for that matter in solving
puzzles and than solving problems. I
realize this may seem a bit absurd; however as teachers I feel we must be conscientious
of the language we use in our classrooms and try and take our students’
perspective. I myself would be more engaged in solving puzzles because it
sounds fun and inviting. 
There are many other terms or phrases we could also modify that
are not necessarily restricted to math.
For instance, I once worked with a teacher who hated the word “test”. She was adamant about not using the term,
especially with students. She would however
use terms like activities, or in class assignment, or challenge, instead of using
tests. Her view was that students often
respond to the word test with fear and anxiety, which countless studies and
personal experiences have proven to be true.
At first I thought this teacher was rather over the top and just maybe
was taking this a bit too fair, but I was surely proven wrong. Students were eager to complete their “math
challenge” and less worried about studying or how they should prepare for a
test. It was the simplest thing and yet
it made such a difference in student response. It’s funny how a word can change
everything!
By no means am I trying to say that math language is the ultimate
cause of why students are resistant to engaging in math! I think that if we
make an effort to change how we discuss math and the language surrounding it, students
may be more inclined to participate, or at the very least be less negative
towards the subject. I urge all of you
reading this to try and replace the term “math problem” with “math puzzle”. I
am curious to know if you find any differences in student participation and
overall sentiments!
Now if only there was a more positive way to say “I’m late
for work!”
Cheers!
(ps. math memes are hilarious!)
Hi Alessandra,
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very interesting! I sure will try it in my classroom! "Math Puzzle" instead of "Math Problem". I started to use "In class assignments" instead of "Quizes" in my classroom and the first thing my students asked me was "How is this different from the Quiz?". I remember they would go over it and tell me things like, Isn't this too long Miss for an assignment? or Are we getting evaluated on this?. What I learned from this was if I introduced a new name the first thing the students wants to know is how is it different from the previous one and I should find ways to make this less stressful and change the way students view quizzes and Tests. Great Blog as I let you know how it goes :)
I think a teacher's language and attitude has a huge impact on students' perception of the material, especially in elementary school. I had read an article last year (I think) about how elementary school teachers' attitudes towards math impacted their students later success and determination in mathematics. There are so many people out there that are afraid of math, and some of those people are teachers. I imagine that hesitation comes through in the teaching of mathematics. We can't be perpetuating the idea that math is scary.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find the article when I did this comment originally, but just came across it while looking for something else: Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement http://www.pnas.org/content/107/5/1860.full.pdf+html
DeleteOh, I also wanted to discuss my concern with changing how we identify things. I think that changing what we call something only works for a while if we are not changing the actual thing. I see a lot of "changes" in education that really only boil down to semantics (which is itself frustrating because why are we pouring time and money into just changing how we name something--we should be looking at the thing itself).
ReplyDeleteI recently worked at an alternative high school and for some students the word test was not used. Their anxiety around tests was debilitating and when they new a test was coming up they would avoid school for days at time. This is why they were now going to an alternative high school. Instead I was told to casually walk by and ask the student to do this question for me as I left a piece of paper with a question. The idea was that these questions would be used as the evidence of her learning. This avoided the test issue.
ReplyDeleteAn intriguing discussion. I think that referring to tests and problems by other names would make an interesting experiment. However, at my particular school, I would hypothesize that the result would be lower quality work. Although the word 'test' may have negative connotations, it motivates students to put forth their best effort, something they may not necessarily do if they feel the activity doesn't 'count'. I mean, would most of them study for an 'in-class assignment'?
ReplyDeleteJulie makes a good point, that calling something by a different name doesn't change what it is. I wonder how long it would take the kids to start feeling anxious over 'puzzles'.
I think the best thing we can do to promote a positive attitude toward math is to have one ourselves.