Math Magic

Sometimes when students are presented with problems and solutions in math, they are unable to describe what is happening and mark it up to “magic.” Almost anyone you ask can tell you what the Pythagorean Theorem is, but not everyone can describe why it works. All they know is that it is a magical formula that you use in math that gives you the right answer. Teachers need to make sure that when they are teaching, students understand why the things they are doing work.

The idea of math being magical typically stems from students being told to memorize formulas without understanding how to derive them. We are doing the students a disservice by having them memorize because they lose out on an opportunity to critically think. If students get in the pattern of believing that math is magic, they give up when they come across something they don’t understand because they can’t remember the magical formula they thought they had memorized. Another danger is that if the students do not understand why something works, they may apply it in incorrect ways. We need to teach students to think critically and one of the ways to do this is by showing them how to derive these formulas, so they are not stuck if their memory fails them and so they can properly apply the formulas.

Technology also plays a key role in making math seem like magic. Increasingly, teachers are having students use applets or other forms of technology to make discoveries. In these technologies, often critical features or steps go missing and students do not come to an understanding on why something works but instead rely on the magic of the applet. While these applets can be beneficial to visualizing the concept, they often need to be supplemented. If an applet or other technology-based tool is lacking, the teacher needs to help the students fill in the blanks. Coming up with extra questions not included or giving an explanation for missing information are a couple ways to supplement these tools. We, as teachers, need to use technology to enhance our lessons instead of having it take over every aspect of learning. Sometimes spoken word is needed to reach true understanding.

Even though math sometimes seems like magic, we need to work to make sure that students are firm in their understanding of the “whys” in mathematics.