Author Archives: Marge Kobewka

Shout it from the Roof Tops!

Current research helps us understand what high achieving math students do and it is most interesting, in fact Jo Boaler tells us it is worth shouting from the rooftops so here it is: High achieving math students use flexible thinking,  are able to easily decompose and recompose numbers and naturally compress ideas to move onContinue reading “Shout it from the Roof Tops!”

Your Brain is Amazing!

All I can say is, “Thankfully we are developing a deeper understanding of how we learn.” Once upon  a time I lived in a world of the fixed mindset¹ and likely you did too. Some students were smart and others were not.  Intelligence was viewed as fixed at birth and one of the roles ofContinue reading “Your Brain is Amazing!”

It’s a scary mathematical world out there! Hmm… really?

Math, math, math, what are your thoughts on this subject? Is it true that math is portrayed as a hard subject? As a student have you ever received the message that  some people are math people and others are not? Do we hold stereotypical messages about gender or race and ability to do math? WhenContinue reading “It’s a scary mathematical world out there! Hmm… really?”

An Online Math Course verses Summer Reading

This summer I am taking an online math course from Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education, Stanford University. It is fitting I think, that an online math teacher should take an online math course and it is logical then, that one of my interests is the very structure and organization of the course. How do I as aContinue reading “An Online Math Course verses Summer Reading”

English Language Learners in the Czech Republic

As I look back to the summer of 2013, countless memories remain from my experience as an English language teacher in the Czech Republic. The beauty of Prague? Yes surely. The challenge of daily communication? That too. The warmth of people in the Czech Republic ? Absolutely! All this and more…. What a crew weContinue reading “English Language Learners in the Czech Republic”

Developing Lifelong Readers – Where to begin?

I held my father’s large, calloused hand and matched his stride as we walked up the steps to the library and through the heavy wooden doors.  We stood in the foyer, one long staircase before me led down to the children’s library and the other,  up to the distant unreachable land of adult books.  PerhapsContinue reading “Developing Lifelong Readers – Where to begin?”