Author Archives: teachamike

Let’s face reality, no one enjoys taking tests. It is a nerve racking experience. If I am to be honest, I am truly happy that for the most part my test taking days are over. However, if you are a student, the painful fact is that test taking comes with the package. Now, whereas weContinueContinue reading “How to have nerves of steel in a math test”

The Skill What if I told you that there was a skill you could learn that had the potential of improving your test scores by at least two grade points. That it did not require much brain power and can actually be fun. What if I told you that I have seen gifted students performContinueContinue reading “One skill that can boost your grades that does not involve studying”

There are three main steps to academic success. 1. Setting goals 2. Devising a plan for achieving those goals 3. Sticking to the plan while making room for adjustment as better approaches become apparent. However between goal setting and goal achievement, quite often life happens. We get offtrack and find ourselves being tossed to-and-fro byContinueContinue reading “Self-awareness the secret to getting back on track”

We live in a world where the answers to our questions are just the push of a button away. The name of a company has now become a verb, when we don’t understand something we are told to ‘google’ it. In many ways this is a good thing, we can find the answers to our problems quicklyContinueContinue reading “Wrestling with questions trumps being given the answer (every time)”

There are certain things in life that by overly focusing of on them make them harder to attain. Two great examples are money and happiness. The same is true for grades.  I have been a teacher for several years now and it never ceases to amaze me how students always obsess about grades, but haveContinueContinue reading “Forget grades, focus on understanding instead”

There is a myth that has been around for a very long time. The myth goes something like this: there are math people and others who are just NOT math people. This is no more true than saying that there are people who are car drivers and then there are non-car divers. It’s actually ludicrous.ContinueContinue reading “I was always the last to get it, but I still topped the class”

It’s what prevents students from putting in the work and also what makes so called nerds feel as if they are not cool. Students feel that if they say no to the party or hanging out at the mall that they will some how be missing out on the fun. Students form the belief thatContinueContinue reading “The Myth of Missing Out”

In my over twenty years of teaching mathematics I have never seen anyone excel in math who never believed in their abilities. It is a known fact, those who think they can, will. Self-confidence is crucial for success in all forms of performance and educational performance is not an exception. The first step in beingContinueContinue reading “The importance of confidence and how to build it”

Over a two year period (2018 – 2020), one of my students taught me a great lesson. Through her actions she demonstrated what true persistence looks like. She would consistently fail my quizzes and tests. Having failed, naturally she was discouraged and complaining of her failure was a part of her routine. However the thingContinueContinue reading “The power of persistence”

When I started out as a math teacher, I naively believed that my job was to make understanding the subject as smooth and easy as possible for my students. This is obviously a part of my role, but I now know that if my students are not allowed to struggle they will never realise theirContinueContinue reading “Embrace the struggle (especially when doing math)”