Making Math Visual

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All mathematical thinking can be made visual. Ideas that are often very abstract and hard to grasp can be thought of and taught visually, making them much more accessible. 

 

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Tie it back to the Big Ideas

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When a problem is broken down and the student understands a key concept, or big idea (for example, that decimal numbers represent quantities that can be decomposed into parts), the individual tasks he or she is asked to do in class become more manageable. With use of the Ontario Curriculum, we help students create a mental map of all the possible problem types that can be derived from these big ideas. This is where they start to see the whole picture.

 

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Mathematical Thinking is Multifaceted  

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First, ​knowing your addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts is critical in order to reach a higher level of mathematical thinking. We have a repertoire of games and strategies for practicing math facts.

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Second, math is not about memorizing steps and regurgitating them through various numbers. A formula or algorithm can be used once a student has made sense of where it comes from, but not before this sense making has taken place. 

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Lastly, math is about thinking and making sense of the world around you; and being empowered to do this. Our job as educators is to train students to think, or as philosopher, René Descartes would say, to doubt, understand, conceive, to affirm and deny, will and refuse, to imagine, and perceive.