Welcome To Slow Math

We are launching this website earlier than planned due to a warm reception at the 2006 Asilomar Math Conference. Pardon the 'under construction' look and feel.

Click here to download the Asilomar 2007 Handout for "Traps & Misconceptions-FINAL"

Asilomar 2007 Handout for "Traps & Misconceptions-DRAFT with Extras "

Click here to download the Asilomar 2006 Handout for "The Ten Game"

At Slow Math, we believe that:

- Students want "Mastery" and "Power over their environment"
- Students master math best when they understand math concepts deeply
- Understanding math concepts is difficult and deserves taking the time to do so
- Teaching mathematical concepts and strategies 'deeply' is where the 'rigor' is
- Students enjoy the challenge of 'really understanding' the math they are doing

None of the above principles takes away from our goal of teaching
students to perform mathematics with speed and accuracy.

A "Culture of Explanation" vs. A "Culture of the Right Answer"
By creating and valuing a culture of explanation in our classrooms, we in no way say what our detractors often claim, namely that we don't care about and value correct answers. What a ridiculous notion! We simply say that we expect a student to be able to explain how she arrived at her answer...and that ensuing discussions over various possible strategies are generally deep and challenging discussions whose absence would seriously detract from the rigorous mathematics that we are trying to teach our students.

Initially our main goal will be to help teachers:

• Identify important mis-conceptions that students might develop
• Use methods of teaching that correct those misconceptions and/or prevent them from developing

We will do this by culling materials from the latest research journals, our classroom experiences with students, the latest ideas in Project-Based Learning (PBL) and our teacher community, that:

• Provide teachers with diagnostic tools to identify mis-conceptions.
• Provide sample lesson plans and scenarios for teaching to those mis-conceptions.