MathBeacon Guidebooks: Math 9 to Math 12
MathBeacon Guidebooks: We guarantee your students will see the light!
Or your money back. At the heart of MathBeacon Guidebooks is that learning math is something to be explored, something to be wrestled with rather than to be directly taught.
Our Guidebooks allow teachers to invert the traditional stand and deliver lessons. (A typical stand and deliver lesson begins with an educator and/or textbook showing kids how to do a specific skill or procedure. After the lesson, students begin practicing what they have seen. Engagement is based on the teacher’s presentation skills and individual student’s ability to focus on the educators.)
A Math Beacon Lesson is fundamentally different. These lessons leverage the students' relationships with each other to powerfully problem solve in the community. A MathBeacon educator starts with needed pre-requisite skills and then poses challenges/provocations that the students have not considered before. Students work with fellow students and/or/ the MathBeacon Guidebooks to wrestle, wonder, explore and problem solve, and/or“get stuck”. The educator's role is not to be the sage on the stage but troubleshooter or problem-solving support mentor.
MathBeacon Guidebooks support independent learning. Teachers can work with individuals, small groups, and sometimes the entire class as needed. The key to MathBeacon Lessons is that they help students know what they don’t know. Once they know what they do not know, they are primed to receive encouragement/ tips/ coaching/ instruction from their teacher. This beautiful shift builds student’s self-confidence, their confidence in peer relationships, and trust that their teacher is there if they need them.