Monday, September 29, 2014

What Are You Learning?

When was the last time you put yourself in the learner's seat?

Most educators find themselves there often as we learn the latest techniques, content, and tools for teaching well.

Today starts my work with the Mathematical Thinking MOOC led by Keith Devlin.

I want the information, but fear I won't have the patience to stick with it. We'll see.

My initial reaction as I listened to the introductory videos and previewed the site was the feeling that it is easy to dismiss a course like this. It's free, there's no personal relationship, and the learning is enrichment. Yet, as I listened to Devlin introduce the course I realized I'll learn a lot about teaching as well as the content--there's lots to gain here.

It would be great if some other educators were also taking this course as it would be wonderful to share how we're using the information to develop the ways we employ the SMPs (Standards of Mathematical Practice) and embed mathematical thinking into the work we do.

If you're interested, let me know.