Making math exciting

Many students sum up their feelings about math this way: It's boring.

Even as someone who thoroughly enjoys math, I can vouch for the fact that it's not always the most exciting subject in a school day. Some of that is simply inherent to the topic. Math doesn't come with the same cool stories as, say, history. There aren't the same gadgets in a math classroom that accompany a science class. The kind of creativity students use to write poetry or short stories doesn't translate as well to geometry (which isn't to say creative thinking isn't still useful in math).

But is math boring? It definitely doesn't have to be, and one of the challenges I know I'll have as a math teacher is to create a classroom where students look forward to learning. How will I do that? I'm not exactly sure yet, but I've got some ideas.

During my first three weeks in the Secondary MAC program, the power and value of group work has really come clear to me. When my colleagues and I work on an activity together, ideas get shared quickly, different viewpoints come to the forefront and I always leave the group with a better understanding of the topic and more perspective than when I started.

I think the same kinds of techniques can be used in math. I don't want to be the teacher standing up front, trying to impart wisdom to students hour after hour. I want the students to be engaged with me, and just as important, each other. To encourage that kind of collaboration, I want to work to set up a classroom that fits with group activities. Having students sit at tables, perhaps four to a table would be a way to start. In that setting, communication between students becomes considerably easier, and makes it easier for them to rely on each other for assistance. 

Another potential way to raise the "excitement" factor of math is through the use of technology. This is an area where I know I have a lot to learn. What's out there? I'm sure there are many, many tools I'm simply not aware of yet. For instance, until I took a geometry class during the winter semester, I had no idea about the capabilities of a touch screen. Our professor would project an image from his computer onto a large screen in front of the class, then use his finger to manipulate the images. It was pretty cool, and it was a way to graphically present concepts with a lot of educational impact. 

So as I move forward with my classes and begin observing my mentor teacher in the fall at Romulus High School, I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for ways in which I can help make math interesting. Any ideas? Let me know.