09 - Karen Tzanetopoulos on the Science of Math Learning in Research and Practice
Apr 2, 2023
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Karen Tzanetopoulos, a trained speech and language pathologist and co-author of "How Children Learn Math," shares her journey from a small office to becoming a math education expert. She explores the crucial link between language skills and math learning, emphasizing the need for innovative teaching strategies. Karen discusses how foundational skills, creativity in problem-solving, and early exposure to mathematical language can foster fluency. Her insights help bridge the gap for students with language disorders, making math more accessible and engaging.
The connection between language and mathematics is critical, as students with language disorders often struggle with math concepts and operations.
Implementing structured literacy approaches in math education enhances understanding, ensuring systematic instruction from basic to complex concepts.
Developing visual-spatial skills is essential for math learning, allowing students to effectively manipulate shapes and conceptualize mathematical problems.
Deep dives
Connection Between Language and Math
The importance of the connection between language and mathematics is emphasized. Many students who experience language disorders struggle with mathematical concepts, highlighting the intertwined nature of language skills and math proficiency. The discussion illustrates how effective communication and language comprehension can impact learning mathematical operations effectively. Furthermore, understanding how terminology affects math learning is crucial, with language being a predictive factor for success in math.
Structured Literacy and Math
The episode discusses the intersection of structured literacy and mathematics, where systematic instruction is a priority. Structured approaches enhance student understanding, underscoring the necessity for educators to implement similar systems in math as seen in reading instruction. Properly introducing and progressively building from basic to complex concepts in math can create more effective learning environments. This structured methodology helps fill knowledge gaps and build foundational skills in students.
The Importance of the Number Line
The mental number line is identified as a foundational skill vital for math understanding and problem-solving. Developing this cognitive tool allows students to visualize numerical relationships, making addition, subtraction, and multiplication more intuitive. Emphasis is placed on teaching students to count forwards and backwards using this number line effectively, highlighting that many students lack a strong grasp of these concepts. Without this understanding, students may struggle to recognize patterns and relationships within numbers.
Visual-Spatial Skills in Math
Visual-spatial skills are discussed as critical components of math learning, bridging the understanding of two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional objects. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate activities that build these skills, such as block construction and shape drawing. Developing these abilities enables students to manipulate and conceptualize mathematical problems more effectively, especially in geometry and measurement. Investing time into strengthening visual-spatial skills can directly improve students' math outcomes.
Effectiveness of Word Problems
Word problems are explored as a challenging area for math learners, often amplifying anxiety and confusion. The need for a meaningful approach to word problems is highlighted, suggesting that students first visualize the problem through diagrams before attempting to solve them. Utilizing strategies that make the process systematic, such as giving students the answer first or identifying the type of information needed, can alleviate unnecessary stress. Teachers are encouraged to model effective problem-solving techniques and gradually increase complexity.
Automaticity in Math Skills
Automaticity in fundamental math skills is crucial for student success, with an emphasis on building from basic facts towards more complex problem-solving. Students should gain fluency in basic operations, including addition, subtraction, and multiplication, before tackling higher-level math. This requires a structured approach that promotes understanding over memorization, facilitating the transition from conceptual comprehension to rapid recall. Strengthening these foundational skills paves the way for students to experience success and enjoyment in mathematics.
In this episode of the Knowledge for Teachers Podcast, Brendan Lee speaks to Karen Tzanetopoulos, a trained speech and language pathologist. Karen tells us about how she started working out of an office that was like a janitor’s closet to quietly do her own structured literacy with students and how her interest in math began while working in the public schools, as she observed that many of her students with language disorders also struggled to learn math and then she made a connection between the two.
In this conversation, Karen goes through everything from the fundamentals that students need automaticity in, common misconceptions, the importance of language to maths, how to approach word problems and much much more.
Resources mentioned:
- How Children Learn Math The Science of Math Learning in Research and Practice (Nancy Krasa, Karen Tzanetopoulos, Colleen Maas)
