Archive for the ‘Teaching Math’ Category

DreamBox recently presented at the Kentucky Council of Teachers of Mathematics (KCTM) conference in Paris, Kentucky.  We were excited to be invited by our friends at the Kentucky Center of Mathematics (KCM) to present at and attend the conference, and it was wonderful to have a chance to meet personally with classroom teachers and Math [...]

Throughout the development of DreamBox Learning K-2 Math, our teachers and developers collaborated to develop innovative (and in many cases patent-pending) tools that are exactly suited to teaching the early numeracy concepts students need to learn. These virtual manipulatives are web-based tools that help students more easily grasp math concepts in visual terms, and give [...]

Understanding abstract concepts is crucial to being successful in math, but some ideas are difficult to grasp and sometimes kids struggle to learn them. Many educators agree that “manipulatives” are among the best math teacher resources to help students visualize a concept in more concrete terms, and to link new ideas to prior knowledge. Now, with [...]

A friend pointed me at this TED talk: Arthur Benjamin's formula for changing math education. In it a mathematics professor questions the assumption that after algebra and geometry students should take calculus.

A recent newspaper article on drafting Common Education Standards had me thinking about screws, widgets, standard gauge railways and whether even those politicians with the best of intentions really get what it means to provide a child with an appropriate - and timely - education.

The genesis of how DreamBox does assessment, and one of the reasons I am with the company, occurred over 30 years ago when one of my relatives was diagnosed with a learning disability.

This surprised us and shocked his teachers, who considered him to be in the upper middle to top third of the class for math. His test scores consistently supported this. In many areas he was significantly ahead of his peers. Yet a detailed examination with an expert showed that for him division just didn't compute. Put another way, his brain simply wasn't "wired for division".

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we celebrate 10 great teachers from the past and present.

This was a very exciting week at DreamBox Learning. When we launched DreamBox K-2 Math we heard from hundreds of kindergarten, first and second grade teachers around the country...

Did you know that we beta-tested DreamBox Learning with 5 different releases before making it available to the public? Along with each release came a plethora of feedback. Feedback that is vital to building a product that teaches and engages...

Forget the boogie man under the bed. There’s a bigger problem out there. “My child is scared to try new things that are hard for him.” At DreamBox, we hear this quite a bit. And I believe it’s a problem all parents should attack with muster. Why? Because learning to persevere through a tough problem is a life skill that will serve every child well, now and forever. So how does a parent address this? Every child is different. Experiment with the ideas below and figure out which best suits your child’s temperament.

I’m a member of a large online community of moms where we often discuss the ups and downs of raising kids in a digital age. Recently another mom posted a question wondering if exposing kids to video games at a young age leaves them ‘no time to think’.

I never liked this game, not even as a kid. However, I recognize the positive benefits of playing games with my 3-year-old Elle, and I could never deprive her...

Who says Valentine’s Day is only about Hallmark and sugar? Classrooms can find creative ways to expand this holiday into a great learning opportunity.

Recently, a friend of a friend who had reviewed our offering wrote to me and said, "Overall I find the business model of a monthly charge very strange for a children's learning software. Usually one buys a book or a CD/DVD for a one time price and can use it indefinitely. DreamBox's offering basically means that now parents need to pay over and over again if their kids want to revisit lessons or if they are just slow learners. A more appropriate pricing model would be to sell the service per lesson or grade level. That would appeal a lot more to me. Think about it. I have to spend $100 for one year of service and after that I basically lose access to the learning tools unless I continue paying. For $100 each year I get many learning software on CD/DVDs or books and I can keep them forever. That is a very easy decision in my mind."

Sorry, but this is a short commercial for a great non-profit program, The Math Olympiad. The program is a great way to get kids excited about doing fun and challenging math. I had a chance to be involved with this a couple years back when I co-coached our elementary school’s team. The kids really enjoyed the teamwork and competitive spirit of it – which are aspects generally missing from the math classroom.