How Do They Relate? Teaching Students to Make Mathematical Connections

Many students see math content as a series of discrete topics, rather than a landscape of interconnected concepts. Through analysis of classroom examples and student work, participants will: 1) explore relational thinking--an important habit of mind of mathematicians; 2) learn specific teaching strategies to encourage students to seek and scrutinize connections among ideas; and 3) learn how to capitalize on a special class of students’ mistakes--when students overgeneralize, they are attempting connections that don’t hold mathematically. We will engage with rich math problems as we explore how to teach students to make--and break--mathematical connections. Join Tracy Zager for this presentation.