Posts Tagged: Real-World Connections

Small Groups & Games in High School Math…Really???

“Without initiative, leaders are simply workers in leadership positions.” -Bo Bennet Why do I need to change the way I teach high school students? What’s the big deal with small groups? What does differentiated instruction have to do with high school math—that stuff is for the little guys!…

A Tasty Serving of Small-Group Instruction

“For some reason, when you become a support to others, you become bigger than you are.” -Susan Jeffers, from “Feel the Fear…and Do It Anyway” This morning was spent filming parts of the new Tabor Rotation DVD Training Series. My cinematographer, Chris Shepherd [http://www.christophershepherd.net/], is amazingly creative and dedicated to making this an incredibly informative AND entertaining film.…

Planes, Patience, & Purpose

“It’s been my observation that people who understand the to-do list and “two-fers” get the maximum benefit from their time.  What is a “two-fer”?  Example: I never get in a line at an airport without something to read.” -Zig Ziglar Traveling has taught me a lot about patience, but it’s also taught me a lot about purpose.…

Cooking, Cookies, and Concepts

This summer I wrote blog posts for parents. As I spent time with my own children over the past two weeks I thought I would share a few ideas. How does a parent cultivate a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts without using a textbook? Winter break is the most wonderful time of the year to meaningfully apply math!…

Secondary Math Resources

“Education is knowing where to go to find out what you need to know; and it’s knowing how to use the information you get.” -William Feather “You can always find a capable helping hand at the end of your own sleeve.” -Zig Ziglar It’s just a few hours away from winter break for schools, but dedicated educators are still asking for more to prepare for the coming semester.…

Movies, Math, & the Moon: Visualizing in Math

Fred Haise: I know why my numbers were wrong. I only figured it for two people. Jack Swigert: Maybe I should just hold my breath. -from the movie, “Apollo 13” “We’ve made our Whole-Group Mini-Lesson on Fridays about problem solving. Word problems, especially multi-step ones, are really challenging for our students.…

Courage & Honor

Over the last month I have had the privilege of working with teachers from many different schools. Yes, just a few short weeks before the winter break, schools are wanting more professional development. This occurred because they want to learn and improve—no matter when the opportunity arises during the school year.…

Small Groups in Math

I was “on the road, again” in San Antonio, Texas last week. No, I wasn’t there to eat the hottest hamburger in the world—the “4 Horsemen” which has the 4 hottest peppers in the world on it. Maybe I should explain…my son and I watch “Man vs.…

Interest=Motivation=Passion

“As teachers we need to know what interests [students], what they love so as to turn such interests into education growth in knowledge and positive attitudes.” -Bruce Hammonds Why is an abstract, multi-media piece of art posted in today’s blog about differentiated instruction? Keep reading… Yesterday, as I began my workday and was pondering how to answer middle school and high school teacher requests, my mind was elsewhere.…