Exit Slip 28/09

Combatting the idea that you're either good or bad at math is a really important part of being a math or science educator. When students come into a class with the idea that they can't improve or that they'll never be able to succeed at it, it makes sense for them not to try because why put effort into something if you won't get anything out of it? If teachers can make math and science classes more accessible to students, they will be much more likely to show interest in the classes and put in effort to do well. Some strategies for helping students realize they can succeed in math/science classes are:

  • Teaching multiple methods for solving problems – everyone will have an easier time with some problem-solving methods than others
  • Introduce areas of math that aren't often taught in high school – geometry, graph theory, etc. are fields that favour spatial awareness and will come naturally to students who may struggle with things like algebra and calculus that form the basis for the high school math curriculum
  • Avoid doing what a lot of math and science teachers do at the beginning of the year where they start their class by saying "Physics is a hard class and you'll have to put in a lot of work to do well" or "Math isn't for everyone" – even if there might be some truth to these statements, they set students up to think that they can't do well in your class if it doesn't come easily to them

When it comes to representation in the sciences, I think the importance of encouraging students to pursue STEM careers at a young age is overlooked. Promoting STEM careers for women or minority groups at the university level (or even the last couple years of high school) is too late because they've already begun to follow a certain career path and it's difficult to switch gears at that point. Students whose background is underrepresented in the sciences need to know from a young age that pursuing a career in the sciences is an option for them and their interests then need to be supported throughout every stage of their education. A big part of this is teaching students about scientists with diverse backgrounds so they don't end up defaulting to an image of an older white male when they picture a scientist. Almost everyone in Canada has heard of Einstein and Isaac Newton but students should also be learning about Ramanujan and Marie Curie and Maria Maynard Daly and Rosalind Franklin (and the list goes on).

Also wanted to flex this picture from when Donna Strickland came to give a talk at my high school after she won the Nobel prize because she went to the same high school as me.


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