African American Educators of Mathematics

  Fractions with PSTs: Celebrate Just Because They Came! Fraction Adventures: Finding Mathematical Brilliance in Everyday Moments Today was a great day with my preservice teachers (PSTs)! We explored several mathematical concepts, counted pumpkin seeds, investigated stages of place value understanding, and engaged in a Number Talk using our student-made rekenreks. We were busy doing mathematics! But the highlight of the day?  We celebrated attendance! Yes, you read that correctly. We celebrated simply because students showed up to class! Now, I know that sounds a little strange. After all, aren't students supposed to come to class? Absolutely! However, I have been intentional about finding creative ways to encourage attendance while helping my PSTs recognize that mathematics, particularly fractions, is embedded in our everyday experiences. And what better way to explore fractions than by using the people who actually show up? Why Fractions? Why Attendance? If you have been fol...

  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...