African American Educators of Mathematics

  Fraction Adventure #1: Post-Homecoming… Coming Home to Fractions Homecoming is over. The bands have played. The celebrations have ended. The alumni have gone home. And now, it is time for my preservice teachers to come home—to class! Well…at least five of them did. 😂 Today was our first class after Homecoming, and 5 of my 14 preservice teachers made it to our 8:00 a.m. class. Knowing that Homecoming festivities can take a toll, I gave them a little grace and started class at 8:35. At first, there were only four students, but eventually we made it to five. And because we are on our journey of reasoning with fractions , attendance immediately became our first mathematical task of the day. So…What Fraction of the Class Is Here? I asked a simple question: “What fraction of our class is here today?” Five students out of 14 gave us: 5/14 But simply naming the fraction wasn't enough. I wanted my preservice teachers to see it, represent it, and reason about it. We placed 5/14 on a numb...

  From Fraction Fear to Fraction Reasoning: Our Journey Begins Throughout more than a decade in higher education as a mathematics teacher educator, I have heard the same sentiments about fractions: “Fractions are hard.” “Fractions are scary.” “I just don’t understand fractions.” And my personal favorite might be: “Why do we have to learn fractions this way?” I teach mathematics methods courses for elementary teacher candidates, and one thing I have learned is that preservice teachers often come into my classroom with very strong feelings about mathematics. Some love it. Others tolerate it. And some would probably be perfectly happy if mathematics quietly disappeared from the elementary curriculum altogether. For some students, those feelings run deep. Mathematics can bring back memories of frustration, confusion, and even failure. There are moments when students become emotional as we explore mathematics differently from the way they learned it. They ask: Why do we have t...

  Double Trouble: When Doubles and Near Doubles Meet Number Talks If you have been following my work, you already know that I love a good Number Talk . Give me a problem, some interesting student strategies, and a room full of people willing to talk about mathematics, and I am happy! This time, however, my preservice teachers and I were dealing with Doubles and Near Doubles . Now, before anyone says, “Dr. Massey, aren't doubles for elementary students?” Yes. And that is exactly the point! Sometimes the mathematics we expect children to understand deeply is the same mathematics that makes adults stop, stare at the board, and suddenly become very interested in their shoes. So, onto the board went our first problem: 125 + 125 No pencils. No paper. No calculators. And definitely no phones! Just think. Of course, 125 + 125 = 250 . Easy enough, right? But Number Talks are never just about getting the answer. I want to know how you know . Did you think: 100 + 100 = 200 20 + 20 = 40 5 + 5 ...

  Conversations with Jonah: Make Ten—Jonah Beats Gigi Three Times! As many of you know, I have a five-year-old grandson named Jonah. He is five going on fifty—full of life, energy, questions, and plenty of opinions! Jonah is very inquisitive and loves learning, especially mathematics. He loves adding, counting, and figuring out how numbers work. As a mathematics educator and, more importantly, his Gigi, I pray he keeps this love of mathematics as he grows. A couple of weeks ago, I taught Jonah a new game called Make Ten . What I did not expect was for him to start beating me at it! What Is Make Ten? Make Ten is a simple card game that helps children develop fluency with combinations that make ten. The goal is to find pairs of numbers whose sum is 10. To play, we arrange nine number cards in a 3 × 3 array. The cards contain numbers from 1 through 10. During each turn, a player looks for combinations that make ten and collects those cards. The empty spaces are then replaced with new ...

  That’s Just Backwards! Conversations with Jonah: Mathematical Thinking Through the Eyes of a Five-Year-Old As many of you know, I have a five-year-old grandson named Jonah. He is five going on fifty —curious, thoughtful, and full of energy! It has been about a month since I last shared one of our mathematical adventures. I have been extremely busy with work, and Jonah has been busy doing what Jonah does best— being Jonah . The academic year has started, and life at the university definitely keeps me on my toes. Now that the semester is off to a good start, I decided it was time to work with Jonah again—and, more importantly, to write about the brilliance of children and their mathematical thinking. Jonah loves to learn, but he may love showing Gigi what he knows even more. And from time to time, he especially enjoys correcting his Gigi! This particular conversation was about what Jonah calls “backwards math.” Mathematicians have another name for it: the commutative property of a...

Conversations with Jonah Number Bonds... or as Jonah Says, "Fun Factory!" As many of you know, I have a five-year-old grandson named Jonah. He is five going on fifty—curious, thoughtful, and full of energy. Kindergarten starts on Wednesday, August 5, and I can hardly believe how quickly this summer has passed. As the first day of school gets closer, I have been thinking about simple ways to help him get ready. I firmly believe we can make teachers' jobs just a little easier by helping our children develop a love for reading and giving them opportunities to play with mathematics before they ever walk into the classroom. As a mathematics education researcher, I spend a lot of time studying how children develop number sense. Of course, that means I have a built-in research partner—Jonah. I also have an eight-year-old grandson, Maverick, but he is usually with his father on the weekends. Jonah, however, and I have our weekend math adventures together. Today's Adventure: F...