Comments on: Math: The Angry, Injured Wolverine

By: dy/dan » Blog Archive » [LOA] The Ladder of Abstraction, Part One Of Probably A Lot

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:43:53 +0000

[…] I've done an excellent job pigeonholing myself as some kind of zealot for applied mathematics but some of my favorite experiences in the classroom haven't involved any applied context at all. Common to all of them (and common to my applied math […]

By: Liz

Liz — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 23:56:07 +0000

Very Creative!

By: Moving: It’s like the mathematical process… | Irrational Cube

Moving: It’s like the mathematical process… | Irrational Cube — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:41:59 +0000

[…] lack of control. Â It’s not just a question of being bad at math, but being afraid of the mathematical wolverineÂ – the new place outside of one’s comfort zone; an unexplored, dangerous […]

By: Try Questions, More Questions | Math Teacher Life

Try Questions, More Questions | Math Teacher Life — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 02:53:37 +0000

[…] Meyer’s elegant solution to student negativity, where he encourages students to consider that a wolverine can be more […]

By: Surprising Things My Students Did This Week « shifting phases

Surprising Things My Students Did This Week « shifting phases — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 02:42:39 +0000

[…] In AC Circuits, I gave the students a list of all the controls on their scope.Â Mission: find out what they do.Â They got them all except for the difference between AC and DC coupling (notoriously difficult for beginners to understand).Â By the end of the class, not only had most people applied the idea to a measurement, but several students proposed alternate ways to do it: “Couldn’t you just adjust the volts/div?”Â “Couldn’t you just adjust the vertical position?”Â Understand, too, that this was not coming from the advanced students who’ve had a scope in their basement for years — it was the students who until last week were treating their oscilloscope like an angry, injured wolverine. […]

By: half year recap and competition « A Brand New Line

half year recap and competition « A Brand New Line — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 02:24:25 +0000

[…] think I am doing a good job making math less scary. Â Dan Meyer call it the wolverine which I like a lot. Â I think many of my students are less timid with the wolverine then they […]

By: Beating up on the wolverine… « Quantum Progress

Beating up on the wolverine… « Quantum Progress — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:37:49 +0000

[…] 2, 2010 by quantumprogress My intro physics kids fear math–Dan Meyer’s angry wolverine metaphor describes their view of the subject perfectly. This partly because even though they’re better […]

By: michele

michele — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 23:29:50 +0000

It has been wonderful reading all your responses, your enlightenment. I’m a maths tutor, the students I get all have steel gates which are definitely slammed shut in regards to maths. When I play with them I find a wealth of number knowledge and thinking power, and it takes time and empathy to circumnavigate their pain. This may sound dramatic but the pain and disillusionment is real . Your skill and creativeness is inspiring and I shall add them to my toolbox. I often find, me believing in them as mathematicians is the first step in the healing. You are all obviously believers.

By: Dan Meyer

Dan Meyer — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:35:03 +0000

With my blessing. Everything on this domain is licensed under the Creative Commons – Attribution license.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:04:52 +0000

Dan:
Clearly, we all love the wolverine comparison–it’s so apt, we can’t believe we didn’t think of it, too :) As I’m a humanities teacher, though, I find this comparison most applicable to poetry. So many students come in with negative poetry experiences, based on years of forced sing-songy imitation or death marches through the symbolism valley. With your permission, I’d love to excerpt your piece for my 8th graders next year.