Math that Inspires

I mentioned in this post that I’ve been amazed at how the gospel is woven into all of the subjects -even math.  Math has been helping my boys, especially, to strengthen their connection with God and to seek and receive personal revelation.

The math curriculum that we are using for Landon and Porter is Math Inspirations.   In my Homeschool Journey posts, I wrote about how I felt inspired to have a certain vision for our family and I felt led to find certain resources that supported implementing that vision.  Finding this particular math curriculum is one of those things.

In March 2019 after we made the official decision to homeschool (starting in September), I started planning everything and gathering resources.  I had heard that a lot of people loved a particular math program so I started looking into that one.  

It was online which I decided would be nice for a lot of reasons – mostly that the boys would be able to do the lessons completely independently so that would free up time for me to put my efforts into the other subjects more.

I went so far as to have the boys take the assessments to determine what level they should start on… and then I got the free trials for those levels. The boys tried out a few lessons (on the free trial) and loved it. Porter, especially. He kept asking to do math lessons. Haha.

I had been meaning to actually purchase the official courses and textbooks that go along with the course but I kept forgetting to (not that it was urgent or anything).

A few weeks went by and I ended up running across a video from the Called to Learn of Christ conference about math.  It was specifically about how math can bring us closer to Christ.

Math? I mean, I could see the connections with the other subjects. But math? I had always just thought of math as… well… just math. No feelings involved. Just the cold, dry, facts.

But, as it turns out, math actually does have the potential to develop our faith and bring us closer to Christ.

In this video presentation, Emily Dyke was talking about the math method/program that she and her husband created a few years ago called Math Inspirations or the Discovery Method.

It’s all about using math as a way to develop problem solving and thinking skills. It’s about learning how to think for ourselves and do hard things.  It’s about the excitement and fulfillment of discovering for ourselves.

 

 

This video explains the Math Inspirations approach and here are a few things (ok… maybe more than a few…) from their little pamphlet that explain the value of this particular and unique approach with math…

 

What True Math Really Is

In order to change how math is taught in your home, you first need to understand that math is more than just a set of procedures, operations and rules. Math is developing the skill of seeing patterns and relationships, thinking logically, and defending one’s discoveries and theories with sound reasoning and logic. Math is naturally a creative process that allows students to develop confidence in approaching difficult problems as well as the ability to think on their own, often outside of the box. In short, math is an invaluable vehicle to drive students to learn how to think.

 

Understanding What Math Really Is Will:

• Motivate you to make math a priority in your home.

• Change the end goal of your math teaching from getting the right answer and knowing concepts to developing and creating a mathematical thinker.

• Alleviate the burden of having to push your students through math. They will LOVE developing their own unique thinking!

• Empower you and your students with the ability to think critically and logically on your own and approach new, difficult problems with confidence.

• Inspire your child to feel successful as a result of their effort and perseverance and not by memorizing or repeating someone else’s knowledge.

 

The 7 Traits of True Mathematics

1. Math is a way of making sense of the world around us.

2. Math is naturally a creative process that requires original thought.

3. Math is seeing patterns and relationships in numbers, shapes, information, and real life.

4. Math is analyzing and interpreting data.

5. Math is the power to think and reason for oneself.

6. Math is observing, hypothesizing, proving and defending our conclusions.

7. Math is FUN!

 

Traditional Math

The way math is taught in schools and textbooks hasn’t changed in the last hundred years. Really! Go and check out math textbooks from the 1950’s at any university library, and you’ll see near replicas of our “current” texts (taking away the pictures and fancy colors of course). Our students, though they live in a very different world, are instructed systematically the same way I was, the same way you were and the same way your parents and grandparents were. The instructor (or website or textbook) introduces a concept, demonstrates the procedure by solving example problems on the board, maybe explaining a few foreign math terms or short cuts and then the students, having seen the instructor’s approach to the problems, are now expected to regurgitate the same procedures on problems as class work and then as homework. This is the “copy and paste” method of math and it can be found in every math classroom, in every math textbook, in every school across the country because it produces quick and efficient results. Finally, students are tested on those memorized procedures and the only feedback they get is “right answer” or “wrong answer.” As any math test will show you (especially those multiple choice ones), the goal of traditional math is only getting the “right answer.”

One of the greatest flaws of the traditional approach is that anytime a student starts to struggle, the teacher (also parents) steps right in to show their student the next step. This creates, in the student’s mind, the expectation that someone will always swoop in and show them what they need to do for the next step. Of course, after much life experience we know this is not how reality works. Stepping in to “rescue” the struggling math student is almost always well-intentioned, however, in doing this, the opportunities to problem solve, build confidence and create unique paths are taken away from our students. This traditional way of teaching math reinforces two crippling ideas in our student’s brains: 1) The only thing that matters is getting the right answer; and 2) There’s always someone who will tell you what to do next.

 

The Discovery Method

Mathematics is an innately creative and discovery-based process. All math stems from very simple laws and truths. This means that all of math can be discovered and created using our unique individual ability to think logically and problem solve. All mathematical truths have been discovered. No one sat down with Newton and said, “Here’s how you do calculus.” He studied. He struggled. He hypothesized. He experimented. He failed. And then he discovered. All of our students can, and will if given the opportunity, discover, on their own and in their own way, every mathematical truth, rule and procedure. No longer is the textbook or the online program or the teacher or the parent the “all-knowing math authority,” the student is their own authority.

The Discovery Method is based on the principles of the scientific method: students observe patterns, hypothesize rules, test their working-hypotheses, prove their own theorems, and record their findings in their own journal. When they need help or forget a rule later on, they look to their own record as the authority. Now, they own their knowledge! The Discovery Method allows students to create math systems that spawn from their own unique way of thinking.

 

Benefits Of The Discovery Method Are:

• Gives students complete ownership of their own thinking.

• Develops problem solving and logical thinking skills.

• Builds confidence in student’s own ability to think.

• Students understand not only the “how,” but the “why” of every math concept.

• Increased retention of math concepts.

• Increased excitement and joy in learning.

 

The 7 Mistakes That Parents Make Which Hinder Their Student’s Discovery

1. They rely heavily on traditional math textbooks and online programs to teach.

2. They fall into the trap of there’s only one correct approach/method to each concept.

3. They tell the student how to do the problem.

4. They step in the moment the student struggles or looks confused or frustrated.

5. They neglect to ask questions to elicit student thinking.

6. They don’t say “prove it” or “I don’t believe you, show me.”

7. They believe that their student isn’t capable of discovering.

 

Studying Math Is Just Like Everyday Life

Everyone in their life is going to make mistakes. It is a natural and essential part of life. It is how we learn, and it is how we progress. Most of our greatest lessons have come from our mistakes. I know to wear sunscreen because I have felt the pain of a sunburn. I know that I need to feed my daughter a good dinner because I have endured a hungry child at 2:00 AM. I know that leaving my wallet in an unlocked car in the gym parking lot is a bad idea because I’ve spent four hours at the DMV the next day and had to replace all my cards. Who I am today and the choices I make are largely a result of the mistakes that I have made in the past. Math is no different. Deep understanding only comes as a result of having to struggle and fight through our mistakes. We test our hypothesis and see that it doesn’t always work. We go back and forth between the drawing board and the experiment, testing and tweaking until we discover truth.

 

Your Child Can Love Math

Math must be taught in a way that is exciting, engaging and fun. Students, and people in general, love control and ownership over their choices and interests. Most children and adults would have a hard time loving rote memorization, following basic instructions and regurgitating information. These are not the types of things that people generally enjoy and it puts them into a “system” that’s churning out molds of the same person rather than giving them ownership and control. People enjoying creating, discovering, playing and discussing. They love learning! That is why students and parents love the Discovery Method. They own the opportunities to create and explore and develop their own ideas and theorems. They master their math facts and discover patterns and practice logic by playing engaging games. They are encouraged to discuss their processes and findings. Stephanie, a homeschooling mom of four in Gilbert, Arizona, said “…all I have to say is, ‘Do you want to play some math games?’ The answers are always a resounding ‘YES!’ They are eager to join in the fun of learning and practicing math.” Math can become the subject your students look forward to each day!

 

When Your Child Loves Math They Will:

• Grow their confidence that they can be successful.

• Have decreased anxiety when given challenging problems.

• Become aware of experiences that relate to mathematics outside of math time.

• View math as an essential part of their education.

• Develop a love of learning and a passion of doing hard things.

• Increase in their ability to think and problem solve.

 

The 7 Keys To Helping Your Students Love Math

1. Do math and be a student with them.

2. Make it fun by playing games, telling stories and solving puzzles.

3. Talk strategy with them during games and activities, show them how you think.

4. Give them choices between different activities to do and concepts to study.

5. Be overly excited about the discoveries that they make.

6. Point out situations in everyday life where math can be applied.

7. Let them take breaks if you see their positive frustration turning to anger.

 

As I learned about this math method/approach, it really resonated with me.  Landon and Porter already loved math. But learning about this unique method opened up a whole new world of opportunity for how math can influence our lives. I started to see so many opportunities for math to bring us closer to Christ and help us to develop skills that translate perfectly to building testimonies and discovering gospel truths.

I felt really led to try out this math program, so that’s what we decided to go with.

 

I spent the summer working my way through the Creating Mathematical Minds Parent Training Course.  This course taught me about how the discovery method works and also about how to be a mentor to my children, instead of telling them how to do everything.   

We are now 8 months into using this math program and so far, we’ve been really pleased with it.  

Here is an example of how it is bringing us closer to God…

Because I take on more of a mentor role instead of the teacher role,  I help the boys to a certain extent, but I try not to give them answers or too much help. 

Often, when they are stuck or frustrated, I encourage them to seek Heavenly Father’s help.  I want them to practice learning straight from Him and I want them to gain confidence that He can and will teach them – even math – if they ask.

They usually don’t like this suggestion (because they’re human and just want to take the easy way out, which is giving up, or someone telling them what to do).  They may protest and just want me to help them (more like tell them how to do the problem) but I try to stay firm and encourage them to seek Heavenly help. 

I often suggest that they take a break and do something else for a little while and then come back to it.

100% of the time, after they have taken a break (sometimes short, sometimes long) and said a prayer, they come back and are able to figure out the problem that they were stumped on.  

This is just one example of how this math program inspires us and improves us, both secularly and spiritually.

 

Until I discovered Math Inspirations, I thought I would be including math in our homeschool because that’s just what you do.  Math is important so you can get into college. And of course the basics of math are good to know for regular life stuff like budgeting and cooking.

But now I am including math because I want my kids (and myself) to become good problem solvers and thinkers.  I want my kids to gain confidence in their ability to solve problems without always being told exactly what to do.  I want my kids to discover and practice the discovery process because I know that it will benefit them academically, but more importantly, spiritually.