Making Math Moments That Matter Experience First, Formalize Later - An Interview With Sarah Stecher
Today we speak with Sarah Stecher from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sarah has experience teaching courses from Geometry all the way through to AP Calculus in the most diverse public high school in Michigan. She is now the chief lesson designer at Math Medic, a website that provides free lesson plans for teachers, covering the entire high school math curriculum.
The discussion today will focus around the teaching model developed for Math Medic -- Experience First, Formalize Later (or EFFL for short!). In this teaching model, students interact in small groups on an activity before the teachers formalize the learning with a whole group discussion. Sarah has found that this teaching model promotes curiosity and engagement, opens up access to a wider variety of students, and produces confident learners capable of flexible thinking.
You’ll Learn:
- What is the Experience First, Formalize Later (EFFL) way of teaching and learning?
- How to promote curiosity in your classroom, foster positive collaborative discussions, and create learners capable of flexible thinking.
- Free resources to start teaching with this model.
Resources:
Why teach using Experience First, Formalize Later?
www.calc-medic.com
How to Debrief an EFFL Lesson
Redefining What it Means to be Good at Math
Reframing Mistakes in the Math Classroom
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