The math department has decided to take a new approach to student-teacher meetings outside of class. Instead of students emailing teachers when they are confused about a topic to meet with them one on one or with a group of other students, the math department has set aside 2.5 hours per week to work with students outside of class.
Although this new meeting method has already gone into effect, the mathematics department is always willing to respond to specific questions from students about what they are learning in class. The mathematics department has also set up three times per week (Room 34: Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, from 3:10 – 4:00 PM, and Wednesdays before school, from 7:30 – 8:00 AM), where Hewitt students can come together to work on their problem sets, discuss their thoughts with their peers, and engage in conversations about their work ideas alongside schoolmates.
In these sessions, there are several mathematics teachers (four mathematics teachers after school and two mathematics teachers before school), to give hints or respond to specific questions of students who are working on problems. The difference between these meeting periods and then when working directly with teachers is that these sessions are supposed to be more student oriented as they learn from their peers.
Head of the math department, Elizabeth Brennan said, “Given that the word of the year is “feedback,” the mathematics department has been actively engaged in practice-oriented research on how students best learn mathematics. As a department, we have identified several areas where we would like to see our students grow.”
Some approaches the math department is taking in order to improve students skills in mathematics include: teaching problem solving and critical thinking skills in the classroom, building resilience in students when faced with difficult problems, fostering the ability to collaborate with their peers, and empowering students to be more independent thinkers. Along,with preparing students for rigorous courses both in college and at Hewitt, this new meeting policy hopes to be a step in the right direction towards implementing all these skills upon students.
The math department didn’t decide to implement this new policy without some research. Dr. Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University, has found that girls perform better in an inquiry-based setting and that the brain can only grow when it is challenged. Brennan also noted that “As a department, we are moving increasingly towards problem-based learning, where students are engaged in solving problems where they do not know the solution method at the outset, and for which the mathematics emerges during the problem-solving process. Since this type of problem solving is more challenging than the work encountered with traditional instruction, and because it requires approaches in which making mistakes is inevitable, this is where support from peers is essential.”
Dr. Erica Walker, Professor of Mathematics Education at Teachers College Columbia University, has studied the positive effects of building peer collaborations. She wrote that “In mathematics, [working on academic tasks with peers outside of class] is particularly useful in that learning to communicate mathematical ideas, gaining insight from peers while completing problem-solving activities, and discussing mathematical reasoning, proof, and justification are important components of developing quantitative ability.”
Overall, the mathematics department’s decision to have this new policy of drop-in hours, rather than relying on one-on-one meetings that mirror a tutor-tutee dynamic, is both deliberate and rooted in contemporary research.