During math class my instructor began by telling us how she got students attention; she performed antics! On one particular day she was demonstrating how to get a Buzz Lightyear doll to jump, she did this by standing on a table throwing the doll in the air... and she was wearing a corduroy jumper. If I had a teacher like this back in school, I would probably have been interested in math.
When I was in high school I struggled with geometry. I still remember my teacher, Mr. Caldasurdo, telling my parents that I tried and tried but that I just couldn't grasp the concept and he didn't know what else to do with me. So, I continued to come to class, listen to his lectures of explanation, and fail every test. I could not understand geometry!
Now in our day of technology, there is a world wide web to help students "see" geometry! In my current math class, our corduroy jumping teacher (now in jeans and a t-shirt)introduced us to Geometry Sketch Pad and after 25 years, I began to understand, no "SEE" geometry! The site has you take shapes and adjusting this shape into new shapes. IT was a challenge, but what worked for me was the fact that I could manipulate the shape into a geometry shape and therefore the term "quadilateral" clicked in my brain. This soon made me realize how technology can help students who were like me when they need more of a visual, not an instructor standing in front of the class. By interacting with the class you're helping those acorns grow into math lovers!
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