During my career working with members of my mathematics team, I used sports to help with bonding. On occasion, I became their basketball coach to teach them the fundamentals of basketball. Besides learning the fundamentals of the sport, I had them focus on teamwork and good sport...
I am often asked if there is a shortcut for success and I rapidly answer yes. I explain that although it is counter intuitive, the secret for success is “patience”. When a large building is constructed, soil studies and other tests need to be done initially. Time is taken ...
During my teaching and coaching career, I was constantly working with a group of students that possessed different abilities in mathematics. This is common for most teachers and coaches. Initially, when working with students of different abilities, I sought to make sure that al...
During my lifetime, I have observed how enthusiasm positively impacts those around me. Since I began elementary school, until the present time, I have made a conscious effort to be enthusiastic about everything that I do. Following my commitment to doing things that I enjoy and...
Whether it was my time as a student, a teacher, a coach, a parent or an author, I have always worked at improving what I do. As a student, I focused on trying to learn as much as I could about the content that was being taught. When playing sports, I worked diligently in becoming...
Many times in our life, we encounter confrontational situations in which we have an obligation to defuse certain conflicts between people. As a teacher, these situations occur with students, parents, administrators or other teachers. Parents usually encounter this with their ch...
When I was young, memorization was a big part of every teacher’s tools for instruction. In recent years the emphasis on memorization has been drastically reduced. I think that there is a place in learning for memorization. Memorization requires focus. Memorization requires comm...
During lectures in a traditional classroom (teacher in the front of a group of students), teachers should minimize the time spent turning their back on the students. Eye contact is very important. Students will remain more focused when you make eye contact with them. When facing ...
Every teacher needs to make balanced questioning in the classroom a priority. In general, most classrooms consist of students with different content knowledge. Also, the classroom possesses students that are more assertive and some that are not. Whether I was asking the questions...
Whether you are a mathematics teacher or a mathematics coach, it is important that you develop a routine. Your students will respond more favorably to whatever you teach, if they know what to expect. In teaching, I used to begin every lesson with a quick review of lessons present...
