As many of you know…math is a passion of mine, and helping get kids excited about math is high on my list of goals every year. One thing I have learned in my more than 20 years in the classroom is that certain math “behaviors” must be in place before deep understanding takes place.
One thing that I have really started to notice, however, is MY role in making sure I am really checking for understanding. I have set it as a goal to really get better at the type of problems I ask of my students so that I can do a better job of seeing what they CAN do and what they cannot. The one thing I have recognized is that I need to a better job “fishing” for misconceptions–because the only way to clear up misconceptions is to find what they are! Let me show you a few examples of what I mean…and you can see how a few simple tweaks in how you ask questions can open up a WORLD of new information to you!
