Visual Learners

Geometry. (Geo=Earth, Metry=measure. Geometry=to measure the Earth.)
It's the first kind of math that I fell in love with. All those shapes are much more interesting than memorizing your multiplication facts. It helps that I lean towards being a visual learner. In my daily life the saying, "Out of sight, out of mind," has a real impact. (Where DID I put my keys?.. my phone?) I'm also a natural speller. I see a word and can usually tell if it "looks right" or not, simply because I've read it so many times.

Plane & Solid Geometry in high school was fun. I could usually "see" the answer even if I had trouble figuring out the proof. At least I knew where I was going. So I tended to write my proofs backwards. - Here is the answer.. Now what do I need to get there? Kind of like working the maze on the kiddy-menu backwards. Try it. It's easier to see the twists and turns. You know the old saying, "Hind sight is 20/20!"  Anyhoo.. Geometry homework-type proofs are dry and boring. They've lost their purpose I think, that is to SHOW us why it works.

Curriculum that use manipulatives are a must for my students. Getting a kid's hands on some blocks or pennies or whatever is great for all types of learners at all levels. Visual learners SEE the new concept, kinesthetic learners benefit from BUILDING the new problems themselves, and audio learners get to TALK it out as they build. Actually, most people learn best from a combination of seeing, doing, and saying.

So I'm sharing a couple of videos from some favorite mathematicians. Steve Demme's video uses manipulatives to teach the relationship between fractions, decimals, and percents quite effectively. Vi Hart's videos are just plain fun, and this one uses paper-folding (simple origami) to prove the Pythagorean Theorem. (You know, the mathematical relationship between the sides of a right triangle?) Watch the videos and then try building them yourself.

Now it's time to go play a rousing game of "Let's Find Mama's Phone." Listen for the ringtone kids. It's got to be around here somewhere..