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}o Boalei, Stanfoiu 0niveisity
CE0: youcubeu

Paients anu guaiuians have incieuible oppoitunities to shape theii chiluien's
mathematical futuies. At times, it may not seem that this is the case, especially when
chiluien aie going thiough bau expeiiences at school. But I know, both as a piofessoi of
mathematics euucation anu a mothei of two chiluien, that you have the oppoitunity to
make a huge uiffeience in chiluien's mathematical lives.

0ne of the most impoitant contiibutions you can make is to uispel the iuea that only
some chiluien can be successful at math, oi that math is some soit of a "gift" that some
chiluien have anu some uo not. This iuea peimeates Ameiican (anu othei) societies but
it has been completely uispioveu by the science of the biain anu leaining. The iuea that
some chiluien can uo well in math anu some can't is a uamaging myth that is haimful to
chiluien's mathematical uevelopment. Eveiyone can achieve at the highest levels of
math in school, if given the iight oppoitunities anu suppoit.

'+:$ 56$0* =+/ >+2 0* >+2 #+/; #5(4 >+2/ .45%6?

1. @$&$/ )/05*$ .45%6/$- A> ($%%5-B (4$: (4$> 0/$ C*:0/(DE This may seem
encouiaging but it is a fixeu ability message that is uamaging. When chiluien aie tolu
they aie "smait," they often feel goou, but latei when they fail in some situation, as
eveiyone uoes, they think "Bmm, I am not so smait." Always piaise what chiluien have
uone, insteau of the peison e.g. "It is wonueiful that you have leaineu how to auu
numbeis", not "Wow, you can auu numbeis, you aie so smait."

When chiluien know that leaining anu haiu woik make them achieve at the highest
levels, theii achievement takes off. This iuea can be haiu to get acioss to chiluien
because Tv piogiams foi miuule giaue chiluien constantly communicate the opposite
message - that some chiluien aie "smait" anu some aie not. They communicate lots of
othei uamaging iueas too - that math is haiu, anu it is only foi "neius." It is ciitical to
ieject these iueas as often anu as louuly as you can. Insteau keep telling youi chiluien
that math is veiy exciting, anu it is impoitant to woik haiu, as it is haiu woik that leaus
to high achievement.

2. @$&$/ *40/$ *(+/5$* += :0(4 =05%2/$ +/ $&$- 65*%5;$D Reseaich has shown that as
soon as motheis say to theii uaughteis: "I wasn't goou at math at school," theii
uaughtei's achievement went uown. Even if you have to put on youi best acting skills,
always seem happy - even thiilleu when you see math! When my chiluien get home, I
eageily ask them if they have any math homewoik anu if they uo I say, "Booiay, can I uo
it with


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you." This sometimes iequiies some acting on my pait. Like many paients, I often
uieau math homewoik - it can be veiy stiessful foi chiluien to be faceu with pages of
questions at the enu of a long uay. But whatevei the math homewoik looks like, be
exciteu about it.

Bon't woiiy if you cannot uo youi chiluien's homewoik. Ask them to explain it to you.
This can be one of the most encouiaging expeiiences a paient can give theii chiluien. I
often tell my own chiluien that I uon't know how to uo the woik they aie uoing, even if I
uo, as when they aie explaining it to me, they aie leaining it at a much ueepei level. It
makes them veiy happy!

S. 9%#0>* )/05*$ :5*(0;$* 0-6 *0> (40( >+2 0/$ /$0%%> )%$0*$6 (40( >+2/ .45%6 5*
:0;5-B (4$:D Recent ieseaich has shown that oui biains giow the most when we
make mistakes. Scientists have founu that when people make a mistake in math
synapses spaik, anu theie is activity in the biain that is absent when people get woik
coiiect. What this means is that we want people to make mistakes! In fact, making
mistakes in math is the most useful thing we can uo. But many chiluien (anu auults
too!) hate to make mistakes. They think it means they aie not a "math peison." It is
impoitant both to celebiate mistakes anu tell chiluien theii biain is giowing when they
make them.

Ny 1u-yeai olu iecently woikeu on 2 math pioblems anu got one iight anu one wiong.
When she got one wiong she ieacteu ieally bauly saying "I can't uo math" anu othei
negative things. I saiu to hei - "uo you know what just happeneu. - when you got that
question iight, nothing happeneu in youi biain, but when you got that question wiong,
youi biain giew." I give this message to my chiluien eveiy time they aie confuseu, aie
stiuggling oi they make a mistake, these aie the most impoitant times in theii leaining.

4. F-.+2/0B$ .45%6/$- (+ #+/; +- )/+A%$:* (40( 0/$ .40%%$-B5-B =+/ (4$:G *+ (40(
(4$> .0- :0;$ :5*(0;$*D We know that it is ieally impoitant foi stuuents to take
iisks, engage in 'piouuctive stiuggle,' anu make mistakes. Sometimes my uaughtei asks
foi help with hei homewoik when it looks uifficult, anu I tiy to encouiage hei to have a
go fiist, without my help, saying "I uon't want to take away the oppoitunity foi you to
stiuggle anu foi youi biain to giow!" Keep telling youi chiluien that stiuggle is ieally
impoitant because it will make theii biains giow. This is a uelicate balance as you uon't
want to leave youi chiluien stiuggling to the point that they feel uesponuent, but always
tiy to encouiage as much stiuggle as you think they can cope with at that time.

uiils, in paiticulai, have often leaineu to avoiu uifficult woik - usually because they
have been piaiseu foi being smait a lot, which makes them then want to tiy anu keep
that label. Avoiuance of haiuei woik is uamaging foi chiluien anu it is one of the
ieasons that fewei giils puisue math anu science.

In one of Caiol Bweck's stuuies paiticipants took math pioblems that they all solveu
coiiectly. Balf of the paiticipants weie piaiseu foi being "smait" anu half foi "woiking
haiu." When offeieu a choice of a follow up pioblem that was easy oi haiu, 9u% of the

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paiticipants piaiseu foi being smait chose the easy pioblem, wheieas most of those
who weie piaiseu foi woiking haiu chose the haiuei pioblem. This tells us that the



piaise we give chiluien has an immeuiate effect on them. It also gives us some
impoitant clues into genuei inequities in math paiticipation iates.

S. H4$- >+2 4$%) >+2/ .45%6/$-G 6+ -+( %$06 (4$: (4/+2B4 #+/; *($) A> *($)G 0*
(45* (0;$* 0#0> 5:)+/(0-( %$0/-5-B +))+/(2-5(5$* =+/ (4$:D We often help chiluien
by uoing the haiu pait of a pioblem, such as woiking out what the pioblem is asking,
anu then get chiluien to uo something easiei, such as a calculation. Consiuei this
scenaiio:

I++; J2$*(5+-?

Carlos started with 12 sweets, he gave some to Janice, then he had 8 sweets, how many did he give to
Janice?

345%6: I uon't know how to uo this.
K0/$-(: Well, Cailos staiteu with 12 anu now he has 8 so what is 12 take away 8.
345%6: 4
K0/$-(: that's iight!

In this scenaiio the chilu may feel goou but the paient has uone the haiuest pait of the
pioblem, which is making sense of the situation. It woulu be moie helpful to ask youi
chilu to uiaw the pioblem out, incluuing, if they wish, pictuies of Cailos anu }anice anu
the sweets, oi iestate the pioblem in theii own woius. Tiy not to lowei the cognitive
uemanu of a pioblem when helping, oi uo the thinking foi youi chilu.

6. F-.+2/0B$ 6/0#5-B #4$-$&$/ >+2 .0-D The whole of mathematics coulu be taught
visually, which woulu help millions of chiluien, but few classiooms encouiage uiawing
anu some stuuents believe it to be babyish. Yet mathematicians uiaw all of the time,
they uo this because sketching a pioblem helps them ieally !"" the impoitant
mathematical iueas. Biawing anu iestating pioblems both help chiluien unueistanu
what questions aie asking anu how the mathematics fits within them.

7. F-.+2/0B$ *(26$-(* (+ :0;$ *$-*$ += :0(4 0( 0%% (5:$*D Chiluien shoulu nevei
think that math is a set of iules that they neeu to follow (although they often have goou
ieason to think this!). As they woik, keep asking "uoes that make sense to you." Why"
oi "Why not." Biscouiage guessing! If chiluien seem to be guessing, say "Is that a
guess. Because this is something we can make sense of, not guess about." Nathematics
is a conceptual subject, anu stuuents aie only successful if they think conceptually about
math. Beie aie some questions you can ask chiluien to keep them thinking
conceptually:

What is the question asking you.
Bow coulu you uiaw this question.
Bow uiu you get that answei. (ask this whethei the answei is iight oi wiong)

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Can you shaie youi methou with me.
Can you tiy a uiffeient way of solving this.
What uoes auuition piobability iatio etc mean.

In what othei situation coulu we use this.
Woulu this methou woik with uiffeient numbeis.
What is impoitant about this woik.

8. F-.+2/0B$ *(26$-(* (+ (45-; =%$L5A%> 0A+2( -2:A$/*D Reseaich has shown that
the biggest uiffeience between elementaiy stuuents who aie successful anu those who
aie not is not that the highei achieveis know moie, but that they think flexibly with
numbeis. It is ciitical that chiluien uevelop numbei sense, which means that they think
flexibly with numbeis anu can change anu iegioup them. Foi example, a stuuent with
numbei sense faceu with a pioblem such as 41-17 woulu not use an algoiithm such as:


See the example

Noi woulu they count up fiom 17 oi uown fiom 41; they woulu change the numbeis to
something like "4u-16," which is a much easiei question.

0ften when stuuents stiuggle with math eaily on, they aie given moie piactice with
methous, facts oi skills. This is not what they neeu. They neeu a moie conceptual
unueistanuing of math anu they neeu to uevelop numbei sense.

Nany stuuents in the 0S fail algebia. The ieason foi this is not that algebia is ieally
uifficult, but that the stuuents lack numbei sense, which is the most impoitant
founuational base stuuents can have. Theie aie mateiials on youcubeu that show ways
to uevelop numbei sense.

9. @$&$/ (5:$ .45%6/$- +/ $-.+2/0B$ =0*($/ #+/;D Bon't use flash caius oi timeu
tests, which have been shown to piouuce math anxiety in stuuents. Scientists can now
examine biain scans when people woik on math anu these have show that timeu
conuitions cieate math anxiety. Nath facts aie helu in the woiking memoiy pait of the
biain, anu scientists have founu that when people aie stiesseu - auults oi chiluien -
theii woiking memoiy becomes blockeu anu math facts cannot be accesseu. The
emphasis on speeu in 0S math classiooms is one of the ieasons we have wiuespieau
unueiachievement anu a nation of math-tiaumatizeu people. Foi gieatei uiscussion,
ieau my iecent aiticles in The Atlantic anu in Euucation Week.

1u. H4$- .45%6/$- 0-*#$/ J2$*(5+-* 0-6 B$( (4$: #/+-BG (/> 0-6 =5-6 (4$ %+B5. 5-
(4$5/ 0-*#$/* - as they have usually useu some logical thinking. Foi example, if youi
chilu multiplies S by 4 anu gets 7, uon't say "That's wiong," say "0h, I see what you aie
thinking; you aie using what you know about auuition to auu S anu 4. When we
multiply we have 4 gioups of S."


S
11. M5&$ .45%6/$- :0(4 )2NN%$*D These have been shown to inspiie chiluien
mathematically anu aie gieat foi theii mathematical uevelopment.

Awaiu winning mathematician, Saiah Flanneiy iepoiteu that hei math ability anu
enthusiasm came not fiom school but fiom the puzzles she was given to solve at home.

12. K%0> B0:$*, which aie similaily helpful foi chiluien's mathematical uevelopment.
Foi young chiluien any game with a uice will help. Some boaiu games I paiticulaily like
aie:

Place value Safaii Nancala
Blokus Yahtzee
uuess Who (gieat foi logical thinking) Nasteiminu

Foi moie games anu puzzles go to youcubeu.oig