Jo Boaler

Jo Boaler

 This post is a little late as was in my drafts but thought I would post anyway.
I had the opportunity to go to the one day conference run by Jo Boaler, which was great as I had discovered this lady last year. This came about from a problem that I have had for a long time and that is parents negative attitude to maths being past on to their children. Thanks to Jo Earl I was able to read one of Jo Boalers books Mathematical Mindsets. This book was very easy to read and well worth it. 

Mathematical Freedom was the title on one of her very first slides in her presentation. If she put this up a few years ago I would have said I don't think those two words really go together. However the more I thought about it I have since moved on in my thinking how maths can be more creative. It is not just a list of formulas to use and set ways to do things as I thought when I was younger. I have to say that the word creative is one that growing up I would have never put with maths and just by putting that word in front really changes things. I can't wait to use that word more with the children so as it may resonate with more children. I would have liked to have heard that word when I was learning about math. 

The mindset plays an important part according to Jo and on her website Youcubed she has some wonderful videos and things to share with the children which will definitely help to change some attitudes towards maths. I think some parents would also benefit from watching some of these videos and checking out the website.

Concerns I have are really ensuring I find resources to help me with coming up with problems and approaches to maths that follow the ideas I learned from Jo Boaler. The website is a good start and I have begun to look for more resources to help me and soon I will hopefully feel confident to come up with some on my own at some point.

Take away from this course is to work on my approach to teaching maths and keep in mind the statement mathematics is freedom. I am looking at how to ensure there are plenty of opportunities to really get the children to be creative in maths.