As adult education instructors, we know that our students bring all kinds of preconceived ideas about math into the classroom. Many see math as boring—a subject governed by processes, rules, and formulas that has little connection to their world. Furthermore, because they may have struggled with math in the past, they think that they will never be good at math. “I’m just not a math person.” We’ve all heard that from our students. Continue reading Problem-Solving Activities, Videos, and Articles Promoting Growth Mindset
Tag Archives: lesson plans
Deepen Conceptual Understanding in Math with Virtual Manipulatives (and it’s fun!)
The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) is a website that houses a goldmine of visual models and interactive virtual manipulatives for mathematics instruction. The library began as a project in 1999 with support from the National Science Foundation and was developed at Utah State University. It has since undergone numerous revisions and additions and presently contains over 100 virtual manipulatives. Continue reading Deepen Conceptual Understanding in Math with Virtual Manipulatives (and it’s fun!)
Great Activities for Formative Assessment and Problem-Solving in Math
The Mathematics Assessment Project (MAP) is a joint venture between the University of California, Berkeley, and the Shell Center at the University of Nottingham, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project aims to “design and develop well-engineered assessment tools to support US schools in implementing the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.” To meet this goal, the MAP website covers three major content areas: formative assessment, summative assessment, and professional development. Continue reading Great Activities for Formative Assessment and Problem-Solving in Math
Connecting Environmental Data with Real Life
Statistics for Action aims to help adults understand how to read and interpret data, and shares resources with which to do that in a classroom or community setting.
The site is focused primarily on data about environmental issues, air pollution, toxins in our drinking water or soil, chemicals in our food. Because of this, it is easy to draw connections from the materials to students’ lived experiences. Continue reading Connecting Environmental Data with Real Life
A Comprehensive Science Resource
This comprehensive site for teachers is set up for K-12 teaching but includes many resources that are appropriate for the adult classroom. Continue reading A Comprehensive Science Resource


