Giving Math a Chance

THOUGHT

Forcing students to learn, use, and show that they know how to use a tree diagram (or other diagram used to visually represent data) should be more of a suggestion.

REFLECTION #1

Students should be shown these ways of visually representing information, so that they are aware of them, but then students should be given the choice to use these diagrams to show their thinking, or be able to choose if they would like to represent the information in another way.

REFLECTION #2

Maybe the underlying idea of conformity to one norm in math (if one looks hard/deep enough), is one of the things that turns some students away from math. If they were allowed to have more options, and allowed to use more creative means of representing data, then they would be more likely to give math a chance. This leniency from the teacher would also help alleviate some of the stresses that students have when taking a math test (or a test in any subject, for that matter). When students know that they do not have to mimic the "right" way, this can allow students to focus on the math equation, rather than on the way that they represent the data.