Comments on: What Should Math Teachers Do When They Don’t Know the Math?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 07:00:05 +0000

Use your judgment of which of two approaches to use:

1. Figure it out on the board.

2. Tell the kids you will get back to them later.

Obviously choice 1 is preferred to the extent that you think you can figure it out, question is critical, and class is on track time/content wise. To the extent the opposite is the case (don’t think you can nuke it out, less important issue, class does not have spare time), than you should pick choice 2.

Other choices (trying to snow them, belittling the question, etc.) are not acceptable.

If the question is truly something super-advanced (and presumably not relevant to the content) than you may be forced to get back to them the next day with an answer that you tried, but can’t answer it.

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Read and Share: Some Important Voices in My Classroom | 17GoldenFish — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 10:40:21 +0000

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By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 06:11:07 +0000

I’m actually so glad I stumbled upon this post. Earlier in my student teaching I was trying to prove why you couldn’t divide by zero to my students, but one of the students countered my proof. It was a bit embarrassing, but I thanked her for showing me that and told the class that even this proof doesn’t suffice. Reading some of the comments, I never thought about myself as being a model for my students on how to handle a problem I didn’t know, that the struggle and unknown itself can be a great learning opportunity for both students and teacher. As I soon will be heading into the teaching world, I need to remember that I myself am still a learner as well, and that questions and “not knowing” is not something to be afraid of but instead something to celebrate about because it now puts both the teacher and the students in the same role of problem solvers. Thank you for this post, though it’s still kind of scary to think about being in that position of not knowing again in front of all my students, I can now face it as a great opportunity not just for myself, but for my students as well.

By: Mathew G.

Mathew G. — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 17:37:16 +0000

I honestly look forward to being asked questions that I don’t know the answer too. I really do because it gives me opportunities to engage with students thoughts and also show them that I am not just a teacher, but I am also a Mathematician! I am not simply a teacher teaching them math, but I am a Mathematician who wants them to learn the way mathematicians learn, by not simply knowing the answer, but by working hard to find it out.

I think that students should feel comfortable to ask any question they desire, and I think that a natural way for this comfort to develop is to admit that you are unsure when a student asks a question we don’t know the answer to. This shows them that even we can ask questions and model for them how we can go about finding answers to them. We must model being an active and life long learner and mathematician if we want students to see what they need to do to become the same.

By: Dan Meyer

Dan Meyer — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 22:38:51 +0000

Joe:

Students have a lot going on, and a couple of teacher slip-ups are not going to be the primary occupiers of their minds.

Nice! And you can aim even higher! Rather than "I hope they forget my mess-up," you can say to yourself, "I hope they watch their teacher struggle and not lose his cool and realize that struggling is a natural part of challenging yourself academically."

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 05:50:34 +0000

I am hoping to have a math classroom of my own sometime in the near future (I can see from the comments I am not alone here) and I can say that this is something that I, along with many of my peers, worry about often. It is a relief to see so many responses to that Twitter question include admitting to students that the teacher does not know everything. Since I was a high school student not long ago, I can remember a few times (although not the exact situations) when a teacher was unable to provide a concrete answer to a question, and I also remember never holding it against them. I think that this is something to always remember as a teacher. Students have a lot going on, and a couple of teacher slip-ups are not going to be the primary occupiers of their minds.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 06:07:05 +0000

I really needed this post. As a university student aspiring to become a math teacher, I feel like being on the wrong end of a question is fear-inducing, and can be an obstacle that won’t be overtaken right away. During my time in practicum, the fear of making an error and having a student ask a question that goes against what I am saying is always in the back of my mind. I end up criticizing myself for not making a concept clear, and can be very hard on myself.

At the same time, I want to learn to be honest in front of my students, and after reading the tweets above, I want to show my class that I am more than willing to learn alongside them. Having years of education above these students does not change the fact that I am still an active learner myself. Thanks for the encouraging post!

By: Dan Meyer

Dan Meyer — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 15:54:56 +0000

Really helpful perspectives, all the way around. I've added responses from Diane, Ruth, Maria,, and Corey to the post.

By: Amy Hogan

Amy Hogan — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 13:31:08 +0000

What’s interesting about this is that I often answer student questions with, “I’m not sure. Maybe this will help you answer your own question [gives hint or suggests similar problem]. What do you think?” Even when I do know. I’m not interested in answering questions for students who can reason through things themselves. They catch on pretty quickly that I likely do know the answer/reason. But it means if I really don’t know, students are used to my response of “I don’t know.”

Either way, it’s not a big deal to me to admit to students I don’t know something. I can’t know everything, always, every day.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 04:01:45 +0000

I myself don’t see that there’s an issue at all. As long as you set your ego aside and be willing to admit that you have to dwell a bit to get the answer, students will understand your position pretty well. That’s said, I think that dismissing the class for being stuck on a proof is an overkill, the professor could have asked the students for help, or he could have just asked everyone to dwell on it a bit, and move on to the next topic. There’s really no big fuss here as long as a person handles the situation in a relaxed, mature manner.