And here's another book I’ve just finished, for anyone who has studied (or is studying) maths. It’s a lovely gallop through the parts of mathematical history that we don’t hear about, steering away from the stories that focus on the “Great Men” of the white western world, and digging around in a far more global and diverse view of how mathematics was developed. Especially highly recommended for anyone teaching maths at any level. It’s out in a couple of weeks. #maths #books #history

6. An excellent way to develop your own #mathematical #positivity is to introduce more maths-positive people into your life. You're on Mastodon: follow some [Hi! Nice to meet you 😃]. Interact with them. Ask them things. Share the mathematical discussions that you have with with your kids (include #tmwyk when you do!)

#maths #teaching for #parents

5. Model mathematical #positivity at times - not just when they're doing homework! Ask #mathematical questions about everything (look for patterns in things & try to explain them, essentially).

#maths #teaching for #parents

4. That's not just in front of your children, either: stop doing it with other adults. Better still, challenge other adults to stop doing it. If you want your child to succeed in #maths you MUST genuinely have a positive attitude towards it, not just fake it in front of them.

#maths #teaching for #parents

3. Try not to fall into (or get out of) the habit of saying things like "I've never been any good at #maths," "I've always hated maths," "I've never seen the point of maths," etc: these are the most effective ways to kill a potential future mathematician.

#maths #teaching for #parents

2. Are they doing something you don't recognise, or maybe you do recognise but never got the hang of it? Get them to #teach you as much of it as they can. Work together on it. Admit that you don't understand it YET but don't use this as an excuse to not engage. Learning new things is a positive thing. Not understanding something is a prerequisite for learning something new.

#maths #teaching for #parents

1. Do they seem to have been taught a different method for something you remember? Not a problem: get them to #teach you theirs, and encourage them to try to understand yours. See if you can spot similarities. Why do both work? Can you find reasons why one may be "better" than the other (there are no right answers here, but just being more familiar doesn't count)?

#maths #teaching for #parents

You don't have to be a mathematician, or even "good" at #maths, to help your #children learn maths. You just have to model resilience and positivity towards what they're doing, and to avoid reinforcing negative tropes.
A #thread: