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The current habits of mind
of math students and the current teaching practice of math teachers pose a
great challenge in math education in the United States. Students undesirable habits of mind include (a) diving into a
procedure without analyzing the problem, (b) manipulating symbols without
attending to their meanings, (c) waiting to be shown how to solve a problem,
and (d) relying on teachers for conviction about their answers. These
habits of mind are internalized partly because of the way math has been
traditionally taught in schools and colleges. Having observed these undesirable
habits of mind and beliefs among students, I became passionate about helping
them improve their habits of mind and change their perspectives of teaching and
learning mathematics. My mission is to transform math students from memorizers
to thinkers and to transform math teachers beliefs from mathematics as a collection of facts and
procedures to be memorized to mathematics as a discipline that involves problem
solving, conjecturing, investigating, proving, and abstracting. Accomplishing
such a mission requires the support and aspiration of math teachers in El Paso,
prospective math teachers, and math instructors at UTEP,
Information for Mathematics Teachers in El Paso
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Masters of
Arts at Teaching Mathematics
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Fostering Mathematical Thinking in Middle Schools
Teacher Quality Grant
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SABE
MAS Academy Professional Development for Math & Science Teachers
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Local
Educational Agencies Partnership Grant Conference
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Mathematics Graduate Course Work Scholarships for Grades
912 Teachers
Other Information
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Online
Access to My Publications at Selected Works
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Slides of
PowerPoint Presentations at the Conferences and Workshops
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Wiki
for Mathematics Educators interested in Mathematical Habits of Mind
Updated on January 17, 2013
The true measure of success is not
knowing the right answer,
but in knowing what to do when you dont know the answer.
Arthur
Costa
