Ask Me Two Questions… or, It All Started with Mental Math…

 Ask me how I met Howie Hua. I wish I could say in sunny California, since he teaches math methods courses at Fresno State; or maybe at one of the math conferences he regularly attends across the country. Nope. I met Howie Hua via Twitter through one of his “Mental Math Monday” posts. Now, I follow him on Twitter, occasionally watch his watch his TikToks, and subscribe to his blogs. In a short time, I feel like I’ve met a colleague, who not only loves math but gently inspires teachers and students to grow as thinkers and doers. Howie’s ideas are modeled well and easily accessible.  Check out his site here - https://howiehua.wordpress.com/. 

Here’s a wonderful teaching strategy from his site called … 

“ASK ME TWO QUESTIONS.” 

 After presenting content, Howie doesn’t ask the typical question, “Do you have any questions.” Instead, he reframes it as an imperative statement that suggests he knows you will - that thinkers always have questions. Wow. Such a powerful language shift that lifts engagement in classrooms. Try it. 

And, what about math instruction? 

Howie Hua reminds us about the math that surrounds us via visual images and memes. His “Mental Math Monday” challenges provide models of a simple routine that gets everyone talking. And there’s cats -  Fresno State cat math problems that suggest felines also think mathematically. 

I’ll end with a Howie himself. I encourage you to check out Howie’s website and see what else you find.  Mental Math Monday 











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SEL/NVC Letter from Joanie and Will

Hi All! We hope this message finds you well! We are looking forward to our upcoming session in March, and would like to share some tools that could help you reflect and prepare for the Spring. As you know, non-violent communication and social emotional learning are not skills to gain overnight, but require practice, self-reflection, and ongoing work. We hope that you will find value in these tools, and that they will inspire you to connect with members of our community.  NVC for Teachers Culture of Peace in Schools with NVC Video Series In this video series, watch as a teacher and her young students learn and practice using NVC skills to resolve conflict.  Self-Reflection Tools Needs-Based Self Check-In Wholehearted Inventory from Brené Brown  The Wholehearted Inventory instrument assesses your strengths and opportunities for growth. To learn more, you can read The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown.  Self-Care Why Teacher Self-Care Matters and How to Practice Self-Care in Schools
Read more

Morphological Instruction for Older Students

"The primary function of English spelling is to represent meaning. The conventions by which English spelling represents meaning are so well-ordered and reliable that spelling can be investigated and understood through scientific inquiry" (Bowers, 2008). "Generative instruction aims to make visible to students critical features and functions of words and connections among words. This knowledge is intended to support students in generating meanings of unknown words in texts" (Hiebert and Pearson, n.d.). Since the 1955 publication of Why Johnny Can't Read , by Rudolf Flesch, researchers from various disciplines have engaged in a great deal of research on best practices related to reading instruction. In a foundational report, the National Reading Panel (2000) established the importance of explicit instruction in areas such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies. There have been multiple Institute of Educational Sciences (
Read more

Black History Month as a Yearly Recommitment

Every year, as the calendar page turns from January to February, many teachers around the country grapple with questions of whether and how to honor Black History Month in their classrooms.  Many critics of Black History month argue that the fullness and complexity of Black history cannot - and should not - be siloed into a month’s worth of curriculum. One of those critics is a biracial 7-year old named named Henry .  Henry had this to say to his mother on the subject: “It seems stupid. And it’s not fair, because White people get all year, and Black people get a month. But what about Japanese people? And Chinese people? And people from Sweden? There’s not enough months for everybody to get one, and we’re all in America. We should just learn about all of us all the time.” This plainspoken critique from Henry has echoes of the late, great Dr. Maya Angelou , who posited, “Won’t it be wonderful when Black history and Native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is tau
Read more