Weapons of Math Persuasion

The tools you need to get the most mathophobic student or adult not to give up on the most disliked school subject even if it appears that they were not born with the “mathematical gene.”

Pep talks, study tips, showers of praise, and no condemnation for failures are some common weapons of math persuasion successful teachers use to help students achieve a decent level of mathematical proficiency.

by MathPlus January 30, 2018

I Really Don’t Care About Math. Do U?

A slogan you wear on a jacket or T-shirt to tell the world how you feel about school math: it is as boring as dull wood, or as useless as stale food.

Prof. Smith likes to get attention from passers-by, so he carries a tote bag with the words “With Math You Can Do Everything!” stamped on it, while wearing a T-shirt with the message “I Really Don’t Care About Math. Do U?”

by MathPlus June 25, 2018

Singapore Math, So Cheem

When someone describes the math taught in Singapore schools as being too difficult to understand, or complains that young students are unhealthily exposed to an obscene number of brain-unfriendly math questions—“cheem” means “deep” in the Chinese dialect Hokkien.

Ahmad who could hardly understand Mr. Goon’s lessons told his parents: “Singapore math, so cheem. I gave up!”

by MathPlus May 14, 2021

Samurai Math

Shortcuts that short-circuit hours of learning and practicing formal or traditional problem-solving methods to solving certain types of math problems.

Instead of spending hundreds of hours mastering the basics of school algebra, mature students or working adults with no formal education could be taught some quick-and-kill Samurai math methods, such as the Sakamoto method and the Stack Model Method.

by MathPlus August 22, 2017

Drill-and-Kill Math

A teaching format that effectively prepares students to the test: worked examples followed by lots of practice on similar questions—algorithmic mastery over conceptual fluency.

Average teachers just love drill-and-kill math, because it gives oft-low self-esteem kids the illusion that they've mastered the concepts—teachers are happy, students gain self-confidence, and parents are pleased with the decent grades.

by MathPlus April 18, 2017

Same-Same-But-Different Singapore Math

When the methodology and pedagogy used in Singapore math textbooks and supplementary titles (foreign and local editions) at the same grade are believed or perceived to be equivalent, yet the level of difficulty of the brain-unfriendly questions in both editions differs significantly—the tailor-made overseas editions are often one or two grades lower than the local one.

US math educators need to take note of the same-same-but-different Singapore math titles to temper their expectations of their students’ mathematical proficiency compared to that of their Singaporean counterparts.

by MathPlus August 30, 2021

Emoji Math

The use of emojis instead of letters or symbols in questions, equations, or expressions as an attempt to lure those who are not so symbol-minded to math.

An example of emoji math is to calculate the value of each item from the following pair of equations:
2 🍩 + ☕️ = $3.90
3 🍩 + 2 ☕️ = $6.60

Answer: 🍩 = $1.20, ☕️ = $1.50.

by MathPlus October 17, 2017