ERIC Number: EJ1448759
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0228-0671
EISSN: N/A
Three Tenets Forcing Improvisation for Mathematical Exploration and Co-Creation
Jørgen Sjaastad
For the Learning of Mathematics, v44 n3 p8-13 2024
Years of failed attempts to engage my mathematics teacher students in exploration and co-creation led me to radically change my teaching approach. Inspired by literature that uses the jazz improv metaphor for teaching, I derived three tenets based on principles from jazz improv. First, I would bring no more than a single problem-solving task to class. No lectures were prepared. Second, I would not do any mathematics myself throughout the entire semester. Third, I would only mention a theory if we encountered a situation described by that theory. Here, I describe the rationale behind these tenets and the unfolding of the first tenet-led semester. I embraced improvisation as the new norm, stopped preparing traditional lectures, and started preparing myself. While being the facilitator of co-creative mathematical explorations, I was on the constant lookout for experiences that could serve as starting points for curriculum-relevant theoretical discussions and discussions about teacher actions. Drawing on the students' engagement, their feedback, and the final examinations, it seems they gained important insights from this experiment. Most importantly, I felt the joy of participating in the joint mathematical explorations, and I believe the students experienced the same. [The page range (p. 8-12) on the URL: is incorrect. The correct page is p. 8-13.]
Descriptors: Creative Activities, Mathematics Instruction, Teaching Methods, Learner Engagement, Feedback (Response), Music, Problem Solving, Teacher Attitudes, Mathematics Tests, Mathematics Teachers
FLM Publishing Association. 382 Education South, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G5, Canada. e-mail: flm2@ualberta.ca; Web site: https://flm-journal.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A