Mary A. Castillo See if you can...

Mary A. Castillo

See if you can remember homework problems like the following:

“Four times the number, increased by two, is the same as twice the

number, increased by 10. Find the number.”

Laguna math teachers spent an entire day re-learning how to teach

those kinds of problems at a “Hands-On” algebra workshop sponsored by

the Laguna Beach Unified School District. The methodology, developed

by Henry Borenson, demystifies algebra for students with a simple

t-scale, numbered blocks and blue pawns. The class was part of the

district’s professional development program that began this summer.

“This class has helped remove the mystery,” said Gloria Howell,

who will begin her first year of teaching special education students

at Top of the World. “This is will be valuable for special-needs kids

who require the visual and tactile methods to learn math.”

The class brought home some simple facts.

“Algebra isn’t something separate from every day life,” said

instructor Kim Lansdowne. “We use algebra every day regardless of our

profession.”

Lansdowne has been leading workshops with Hands-On Equations since

1989 and is currently the coordinator of gifted services with the

Scottsdale Unified School District.

She stressed to the class of teachers that the Hands-On method

works for students who learn through concrete, visual teaching

methods as well as for more abstract thinkers.

Using everyday situations children can relate to, from trick or

treating to ordering French fries, allows them to picture the

problem, she added.

“The methodology honors every ability level by taking the concepts

of algebra and making them concrete,” she explained. “I’ve seen a lot

of success and when kids know algebra it increases their

self-esteem.”

The workshop is particularly important for the district because of

the state’s explicit standards for math. Algebra is a minimal math

requirement and the district plans to get teachers trained to help

their young charges step up to the challenge.

However, teaching teachers is a challenge unto itself.

“I ask them to forget what they have learned and to look at

algebra from the perspective of a student who has never seen algebra

before,” she said. “That can be challenging for them.”