Khan Academy for Middle School Math (Part 1)

Khan Academy for Middle School Math (Part 1)My goal in this, the first of a series of blog posts, is to show you how valuable the Khan Academy can be as a tool in your classroom.  I will give you a little background about the Khan Academy, explain to you why I value this tool so much, and give you step-by-step directions on how you can use the Khan Academy in your classroom.  Of course, you can discover all of this on your own, but perhaps my experiences, research, and writing will end up saving you time and giving you new insights or ideas to use in your middle school math classroom.

A Little Bit About Sal Khan

By now, most of you have heard about the Khan Academy.  In 2004 Salman Khan began tutoring his cousin Nadia in mathematics.  Soon others wanted to be tutored by Khan and he decided that the most efficient way for him to help them was by establishing a YouTube channel where he could post videos of his teaching.

The Khan Academy is Born

Today that channel has evolved into the Khan Academy, which has helped millions of students from around the world to learn mathematics as well as many other subjects.  The Khan Academy slogan is “a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.”  To get an overview of the Khan Academy visit the Khan Academy “About” page.

Khan Academy is Interactive and Individualized

There are a number of reasons why I love using the Khan Academy with my students. [Read more…]

Project Based Learning

I love project based learning!  When I started teaching over 25 years ago most of the curriculum that I was given consisted of flipping to the next two-pages in the textbook and working the problems that I selected.  Not satisfied with this approach to teaching math, I was soon on the hunt for powerful math activities and projects that would infuse life into my math classroom.  More on that quest in a moment.

Pendulum Swings of Curriculum Change

I’ve taught middle school math long enough to have been through several pendulum swings of curriculum change.  From strictly using a traditional textbook to using a math book that was filled with activities but did not strengthen student’s basic skills, and everything in between, I’ve been there.  While it is imperative for students to have a strong foundation in basic math skills, it is also very important for them to participate in meaningful, project based learning.

Benefits of Project Based Learning

Project based learning places mathematics into a context that is more meaningful to students.  Instead of just solving a group of isolated problems in a textbook, students are involved in math work that carries them toward the project goal.  Students are stretched intellectually when they have to take their math skills and apply them to a task or a problem.  Such mathematical thinking is more difficult than solving isolated problems, but I believe that project based learning produces more interest on the part of students and a deeper sense of satisfaction when the project is completed. [Read more…]