Mastodawn

I teach both middle school "technology" (think shop class mixed with Computer Science) and I later teach the same students in geometry and calculus in high school. This means when I first work with students there are no grades, just an opportunity to be creative and learn how to use tools and programming to make things.

This creates an amazing foundation for our work in academics later.

I wonder if it could be a model for improving math education we could expand?

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myrmepropagandist 6d ago

When I only work with students in a context where I'm giving a grade, and that grade is "high stakes" because colleges care about math grades the students are less likely to bring their full creative potential to the subject of math. Grade grubbing happens.

But when they know me from working on a project first, where the feedback is narrative, where they help set the goals they are just more open to really learning the material, not just "getting through it"

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cognitively accessible math

@futurebird OH, we should share and figure this out and try it in more places.
Now, individual who who can do both is going to be rare but perhaps a collaboration? So the calc teacher works w/ the middle school project person and vice versa???