Land of Math

Thinking like an entrepreneur made me a better teacher
Todd Hawk

Maybe it was my first copy of Entrepreneur Magazine. Maybe it was listening to the Steve Jobs commencement address at Stanford University. Perhaps it was the first time I listened to This Week in Startups. Somewhere I had a fundamental change in how I approached teaching.
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Gaming the System
Integrating game designs into lesson planning
Chris Davis

As a result of this a colleague and I traveled to Pittsburgh to attend the K12 Video Game Conference at Propel Braddock Hills. The first break out session led by Heidi McDonald, from Schell Games, focused on gamifying lesson plans. In the course of the session we explored the tenets of game design and applied them to lesson planning.

Venn Diagrams
First Day of School Activity
Land of Math

In this first day of school activity students use Venn diagrams to learn about classmates.
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Name Glyphs
First Day of School Activity
Land of Math

This first day of school activity is a unique form of data analysis utilizing glyphs.
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Tyler Brown
Math Teacher
Zane State / Lakewood High School

Each require a high level of accountability and evaluation standards. The biggest difference is that college instructors only speak to the students in terms of progress and performance.
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North Johnson
General Manager
Gwinnett Braves
Triple-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves

Math provided satisfaction for me because when I would finish each problem I knew that it was right.Read more...

Mike Hollister
VP Sales and Marketing
Las Vegas 51's
Triple-A Affiliate of the New York Mets

Math provided satisfaction for me because when I would finish each problem I knew that it was right.Read more...

Melissa Sanders
Curriculum Coach
Newark City Schools

I would like to see more Problem Based Learning and collaboration from our students. Kids are capable of great things, given the opportunity!Read more...

Melissa Bird
Director, Corporate Partnerships
Oklahoma City RedHawks

While many people think you will not need algebra or geometry at an older age, I highly disagree and use the math skills I learned in school nearly every day for random work or life solutions.Read more...

Matt Guay
Director of Tickets
Indianapolis Indians

I liked knowing there was usually one right answer and the challenge of figuring out how to get the right answer.Read more...

Nelson Dellis
2011 & 2012 USA Memory Champion
CEO & Founder of Climb for Memory Inc.

Early on, like I mentioned above, I loved swimming in the world of numbers. Numbers have always made me feel cozy and warm. Each having their own feel. Read more...

Keith Hodges
Director of Group Sales
Colorado Springs Skysox baseball team
AAA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies

I know most of my math teachers were focused on the state curriculum & while I completely understand why this is, it was always helpful when the teacher would apply the math lesson towards a real life situation.Read more...

Jim Baucom
Senior Engineer
Nike Inc.

I find the interested in math an interesting question, since I was never purely interested in math for math's sake. Once I found out that parts of mathematics could actually be used for something besides proofs and rote memorizing, it became alive.Read more...

Jill McLaughlin
2007 Dow in Excellence in Education Award
Northridge Middle School

I think the keys to success are first and foremost a positive attitude. Secondly, I try very hard to show examples several different ways so that hopefully one of those ways will click with the students. Read more...

Gretchen Todd
Director of Tickets
Norfolk Tides

Math has generally come very naturally to me so that was the primary reason that I enjoyed it. I liked that there was only 1 right answer - not typical subjective grading.Read more...

Brad Ledford
Licking Valley High School
Award Winning Teacher

I think teaching math is just like teaching any other subject in the fact that you need to know your kids in order to get them to buy into what you are teaching. So I try my best to get to know them as best as possible from the start.Read more...

George King
Executive Vice President and General Manager
Round Rock Express
AAA team of the Texas Rangers

There wasn't a single project, but a couple of classes that got me interested (in math). My college statistics class and introduction to economics really opened my eyes to the possibilities Math offer so many aspects of both business and the improvements in better understanding of our world around us.Read more...

Bob Monahan
Senior Innovation Designer
Nike Inc.

I grew up in Australia and although the education system is different it's clear that the importance of strong math in children is universal.Read more...

Leslie Bradshaw
Chief Operating Officer
Guide Software Company

First and foremost, my mom sparked my interest in math. She is an accountant by trade and has always made sure I understood how to record, analyze and calculate numbers. I can remember her teaching me about my multiplication tables very early.Read more...

Alex Kajitani
The Rappin' Mathematician
2009 California Teacher of the Year

What got you interested in math? When I was in the 10th grade, I missed a few days of geometry class due to illness. When I returned, I had no idea what was going on. Instead of going in after school and asking for help, I began to sink deeper and deeper into cluelessness. Read more...

Dr. Jocelyn Cosgrave
Muskingum Valley New Tech Academy
Zanesville, OH

PrBL - The WHY Factor

Sorry, math teachers. I was the nightmare math student who would sit through the entire math lesson and then at the end raise my hand and dare to ask the burning question, "When will I ever use this?"Read more...

Scott Carpenter
Award winning teacher from one of Ohio's premiere high schools
Granville High School

I believe one key is early on in my career I adopted the philosophy that I teach kids via the topic of mathematics. You have to let go of that mathematics is "king" mind-set and use mathematics as a way to help kids.Read more...

Ashley Belka
Account Executive
Reno Aces
AAA team of the Arizona Diamondbacks

I initially became interested in math in second grade. I was in a 2nd/3rd grade combo class and I had a fabulous teacher who allowed us to work on 3rd grade material once we had mastered the 2nd grade material.Read more...

Chuck Domino
President
LeHigh Valley Ironpigs
AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies

I'm often called upon to calculate and quantify vendor quotes or dimensions to certain areas or cost analyses on food and beverage percentages because I can do them in my head rather quickly. It comes in handy on a daily basis.Read more...

Scott Ziegler
Director of Ticket Operations
AAA team of the Cleveland Indians

At a young age I had a math teacher explain to us how to figure baseball batting averages, ERA's, team standings, games behind, basketball scoring averages etc. This allowed me to have a better understanding of how math works/pertains to my love of sports.Read more...

Steve Brandes
President & General Manager
Idaho Stampede of the NBA Developmental League

There were a couple of teachers that had a huge impact, not only on me, but I am sure on other students in my class. Those specific teachers had an amazing ability to connect with the student, and make math fun and engaging.Read more...

Shaun Boening
2012 Dow in Excellence in Education Award
Northridge High School

The keys to my success as a math teacher are patience and encouragement of students to work through struggles and not settle for just their first wrong answer. I also really focus on showing students and allowing students multiple methods to solve a problem. I then encourage them to go with what's comfortable and not just Mr. Boening's way.Read more...

Andrew Alendorf
Director of Ticket Sales
Dayton Dragons

My freshman year of high school had the most impact on me as a student. I was pushed by my teacher, Mr. Rick Keith, harder than by any teacher in my past. He challenged me each day to become smarter and analytical.Read more...

Brad Feld
Managing Director
Foundry Group

Mr. Feld has been one of America's leading early stage investors and entrepreneurs for over 20 years. He has been a founder of many software and venture capital companies. The following are Brad's answers to our math questions.Read more...

Adam Skibek
Senior Account Executive/Youth Leader Coordinator
Maine Red Claws
Affiliate of the Boston Celtics
NBA Developmental League

I remember Algebra like it was yesterday and the relationship between letters and numbers.It almost seemed more like a competition to figure out the equation and get the correct answer.Read more...

Allison Medellin
Testing Manager
Nike Inc.

I don't recall the exact moment that impacted me in math. I was in a few split classes with older children in elementary school, so I remember learning multiplication tables earlier than some of my peers.Read more...

The DeMATHa Project
A math intervention project

This past school year we were assigned the task of developing an intervention math program for the seventh grade. We dubbed this program the DeMATHa (Developmental Math Academy) Project. None of the students in the DeMATHa Project had previously passed the Ohio Academic Assessment (OAA).Read more...