Last January, I confessed to being green with envy that New York City was getting a Museum of Mathematics. My jealousy has slightly abated only because some of the resources are accessible online. One of those resources is a partnership the museum is doing with Make magazine called, “Math Mondays.” If you are excited by … Read more
“You are so smart,” could be the most damaging 4 words that we ever say to children. That sentence may seem innocuous, even encouraging, but repeated use might actually reinforce attributes that we don’t find very appealing: laziness, risk-aversion, the inability to problem-solve. Researchers like Carol Dweck (author of Mindset) are showing that statements like, … Read more
I’ve often questioned the saying that there are “no stupid questions.” In my experience, very few absolutes are true. I understand the sentiment of the statement, of course. As a teacher, I want my students to feel comfortable with speaking up when something does not make sense. And I certainly don’t want to stifle anyone’s … Read more
This is the time of year when people post “Best of” lists: Best Apps of the Year, Best News Stories of the Year, Best Songs of the Year, Best Posts of the Year, etc… I try to be different when I can (if it’s not terribly embarrassing), so I decided not to take that exact … Read more
Well, I finally did it. With the help of: an Hour of Code Tutorial, a 3rd grader who knows what he’s doing, and what I learned from auditing a class that my daughter took, I finally felt somewhat ready to try Scratch, the free M.I.T. programming language available on the web, with my 3rd grade … Read more
If you haven’t signed up to participate in this week’s Hour of Code, it’s not too late. And, even if you don’t find it possible to get involved this week, I urge you to take a look at all of the wonderful resources. Consider showing your students the basics of programming, and let them take it … Read more