First Impressions

[Celina Palermo]

My current views about teaching and learning mathematics align with the five Math Minds principles since they go beyond simply viewing the brain as a container or as a computer. As a result, we are able to move beyond these predetermined potentials and observe the fluidity of the brain. Doing so opens the door to an endless range of possibilities for learning and adaptability for everyone. I was particularly captivated by principle three, which stated that “working memory is limited” and as teachers when delivering new material we need to ensure that it follows the three “Ps”- parsed well, paced appropriately, and practice (immediately) – in order for students to be able to actively learn and process the new material. Thinking back to my own elementary school experience of learning math, the lesson plans were not designed to ensure that we were able to process and practice the new information before moving on to other topics. It was unfortunate that lesson plans provided students with a plethora of new information at one time before the concepts were put into practice. I will definitely keep these five Math Minds principles in my back pocket when I am teaching math to my students in the future.

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