Making Math Accessible to All Students: Effective Pedagogy? by Bina Kachwalla

All children, when given appropriate support, can learn mathematics for understanding. It is important that teachers of young children teach mathematics in a way that promotes understanding. One hallmark of mathematical understanding is a student's ability to justify why a given mathematical claim or answer is true, or why a mathematical rule makes sense. Effective teaching occurs in classrooms where students are allowed to solve problems or approach tasks in ways that makes sense to them. When you believe in your students, they do better. Brain science shows that no one is born with or without a math brain. Students who have a fixed mindset believe that they are not math people and lack confidence in learning mathematics. Our role as teachers is to encourage them to believe in themselves as mathematicians. Many people incorrectly believe that being good at math means being fast at math. We do not need students to compute quickly, we need them to think deeply and critically. A collaborative classroom climate will enable teachers to orchestrate effective classroom discourse. The more math teachers know, the easier it is for them to find value in the ways their students think. With changed teacher beliefs about teaching and learning, students have shown significant confidence in learning mathematics through the use of the Five Practices Model by their teachers. Students are motivated to learn and are engaged in solving challenging tasks. Teachers are establishing norms that encourage student discourse while solving problems. It actually becomes a reality that mathematics is accessible to all and students are able to achieve.

URL: Making Math Accessible to All Students: Effective Pedagogy? by Bina Kachwalla