4!

9ER',sCUrpErO LEAri 3

Clearly, the refrain of mathematics teachers about the difficulties in differentiat-

irrg instruction had some real wisdom behind it. What they were asking was: Can
I u.ffordto differentiate? With the stakes so high, how much attention can I really pay
to the differences among my students? After all, the standards I'm being asked to
rncet aren't differentiated; they're uniform, the same for every single sfudent regard-
It'ss of style or ability level.
What we've discovered during our journey as teachers of mathematics, admin-
istrators, professional developers, and authors is that differentiationis not in thc way
o.f meeting high standards, it is the key to nrceting thern. Our students' perceptions of
nrathematics as a discipline, their academic success in our classrooms, and their
dcvelopment as math-literate citizens all depend on our ability to engage all our
students, not just our "math whizzes" and high achievers. And no, mathematics is
rrot a worst-case scenario for differentiation. Mathematics can be differentiated as
casily as language arts or social studies or any other subject for that matter. All you
nced to understand are two little words: learning strllcs.

WHATARE LEARNINGSTYLES
AND WHY DO THEY MATTER?
Few ideas in education have stood the test of time as well as learning styles.The
lristory of style stretchesall the way back to the work of Carl Jung (7923),one of the
founding fathers of modern psychology.What Jung discoveredis that the ways in
which people processand evaluateinformation tend to develop into particular per-
sonality types.Yearslater,KathleenBriggsand IsabelMyers (1962/1998)took Jung's
work and expandedon it to createa comprehensivemodel of cognitivediversity.The
fruit of Briggsand Myers'efforts is the world-renownedMyers-BriggsTypeIndicator,
which, accordingto recentestimates,sometwo million peopletakeeachyear to better
understandtheir strengthsand liabilitiesas learners,workers, and individuals. In the
yearssincethe developmentof the Myers-BriggsType Indicator,new generationsof
educational researchersincluding Bernice McCarthy (7982), Carollm Mamchur
(1996),Edward Pajak (2003),Gayle Cregory (2005),and Harvey F. Silver, Richard
Strong,and Matthew Perini (2007)have adaptedand refined theseideasand helped
educatorsacrossthe globe put learningstylesto work in classroomsand schools.
In a developmentof specialinterestto teachersof mathematics,Harvey F.Silver,
Ed Thomas, and Matthew Perini (2003)applied the researchon learning styles
specificallyto the study of mathematics.Out of their work camethe identification of
four distinct mathematicallearning styles,outlined in Figure 1.1.
It goeswithout saying that no student falls completely into one style category.
Learning styles should never be used to reduce students to a set of identifiable
behaviors neatly summarized in a three-inchby three-inch box. However, most
of us tend to develop clear preferencesfor certain styles, while seeking to avoid
other styles.
To get a better senseof what the four mathematicallearning styles look like in
the classroomand to help you discoverwhich stylesyou prefer,let's look in on the
classroomsof four different teachersof mathematics.\Atrhilestudentsin eachof these
four mathematicsclassroomsare all studying area and perimeter, each teacher is
4 MATH TOOLS. GRADES }12

Figure L.L The Four Types of Mathematics Students

The FourTypesof MathematicsStudents

Mastery Math Students. . . InterpersonalMath Students. . .
Want to. . . learn practicalinformationand Wantto. . . learn math throughdialogue,
set procedures. collaboration,and cooperativelearning.
Like math problemsthat. .. are like Like math problems that . .. focus on
problemsthey have solved before and that real-worldapplicationsand on how math
use algorithmsto producea singlesolution. helpspeople.
Approach problem solving. . . in a step-by- Approach problem solving. . . as an open
step manner. discussionamonga communityof problem
solvers.
Experience difficulty when .. . math Experience difficulty when .. . instruction
becomestoo abstractor when faced with focuseson independentseatworkor when
non-routineproblems. what they are learningseems to lack
real-worldapplication.
Wanta math teacherwho .. . modelsnew Wanta math teacher who .. . pays
skills,allowstime for practice,and buildsin attentionto their successesand struggles
feedbackand coachingsessions. in math.

Understanding Math Students . . . Self-ExpressiveMath Students. . .

Want to. . . understandwhy the math they
learnworks.
Likemath problemsthat. .. ask them to
explain,prove,or take a position.
Approachproblem solving. . . by looking
for patternsand identifyinghidden
questions.
Experience difficulty when .. . there is a
focus on the socialenvironmentof the
classroom(e.9.,on collaboration and
cooperative problem solving).
Wanta math teacherwho .. . challenges
them to think and who lets them explain
theirthinking.
Wantto. . . use their imaginationto
exploremathematicalideas.
Like math problems that . .. are non-
routine,project-likein nature,and that
allowthem to think"outsidethe box."
Approach problem solving. . . by
visualizingthe problem,generating
possiblesolutions,and exploring
among the alternatives.
Experience difficulty when .. . math
instructionis focusedon drill and practice
and rote problemsolving.
Wanta math teacherwho .. . invites
imaginationand creativeproblemsolving
into the math classroom.

SOURCE:Silver, Thomas, Perini (2003).

approachingthe contentin a different way. William Merkel, Sandy Horowitz, Bruce

Wong, and Julia Lacomba all teach sixth-grademathematics,and each teacherhas
developed a different activity for students to complete.Which of theseclassrooms
would you want to be in the most?Which of theseclassroomswould you want to be
in the least?Once you are familiar with the four classroomactivities,rank them in
order of preferencefrom most preferred to leastpreferred.
 A USER'SCUIDE TO LEARNINC SryLES AND MATH TOOLS
5

MaeteryActivity
ln William Merkel's classroom, students have just reviewed the formula for find-
Inpi tlrc area and perimeter of a rectangle. William wants to assess his students'
lft\r!lr('ss to see if they have mastered the procedure. He provides each student with
lltr tlrawing of an irregular shape and explains, "We have gone over how to find the
+11'r'ir.uld perimeter of a rectangle. Today we are going to look at an irregular shape.
I w,rnt you to apply the formulas you already know about area and perimeter to
r'.lilll)utc the area and perimeter of this irregular shape."

f /lgurc 1.2 MathematicsClassroom-Mastery Activity

ng Activity
Understandi
Sandy Horowitz wants to see if her students understand what measurementsare
rrecdedto correctlycalculateareaand perimeter.Her studentsare familiar with the pro-
trdures for finding areaand perimeter,and today sheis also challengingstudentswith
iur irregular shape.Sandystartsby providing her studentswith a diagram without any
nlcasurements.Shecontinues,"I want you to figure out what would be the fewestmea-
$urernentsneededto accuratelycalculateboth the areaand perimeter of this irregular
slrape.Then,I want you to explain the processyou used to figure out your answer."

lligure 1.3 MathematicsClassroom-UnderstandingActivity

 MATH TOOLS, GRADES }12
6

Activity
Self-Expressive
After studying areaand perimeter with his class,Bruce Wong wants to inspire his
students to think more divergently about mathematics.Today, Bruce's classwill be
working on an open-endedassignment.Brucetells his studentsthat they will be work-
ing with four shapes--one rectangle,one square,one trapezoid, and one equilateral
triangle. He elaborateson the assignment,"I want eachof you to createyour own area
and perimeter problem by connecting these four shapes.The shapescan be of any
measurementyou choose.You can arrange the shapesin *y way you want, but you
have to be able to solveyour problem using only four measurements."For his sfudents
that finish the assignmentearly,Brucechallengesthem to createanother problem con-
necting the samefour shapesin a different wav. However, this time studentsmust be
able to solve the problems they createusing only three,two, or even one measurement.

InterpersonalActivity
Julia Lacombaalways tries to have her studentsfind personal relevancein mathe-
matics, and the topic of area and perimeter is no different. Today,Julia is asking her
students to draw up a floor plan of their homes, illustrating the dimensions of each
room. "I want eachof you to picture your home. It doesn't matter how big or small it
is, or whether you live in an apartment or a house. Think about each room in your
home. \Atrhatare the dimensions of each room? How do the rooms connect to each
other? Draw a floor plan for your home that includes the dimensions of eachroom."
After studentshave finished their floor plans with estimatedmeasurements,Julia chal-
lenges sfudents to answer these two questions:"Suppose that you wanted to carpet
each room of your home (exceptthe bathroom and kitchen). How much carpetwould
you need?What if you wanted to install crown molding or put up a new wallpaper
border in eachof theserooms?How much total molding or border would you need?"

Each of the four teacherswe have just met wants his or her students to learn and
understand what areaand perimeter are,and how to calculateareaand perimeterin
different ways. However,eachof theseteachershas developeda very different activ-
ity to use. So, which classroomactivity would you enjoy most? Which would you
like least or try to avoid? If you have a preferencefor one activity over the others,
then this is the first signal of your mathematicallearning style.Your style influences
the types of activitiesyou enjoy and how you approachlearning and teaching.
If you enjoyedWilliam Merkel's activity, then your dominant style preferenceis
most likely Mastery.Studentswho prefer the Mastery style learn best step-by-step
and enjoy activitieswith clear proceduresand one correctanswer.
If you selectedSandyHorowitz's activity,then your dominant style preferenceis
most likely Understandlng. Studentswho prefer the Understanding style enjov ana-
lytical taskswhere they have to figure things out and explain or prove their answers.
If you were drawn to BruceWong's activity,then your dominant style preference
is most likely Self-Expressiue. Students who prefer the Self-Expressivestyle thrive
when they are given choices,have the opportunity to be creative,or are asked to
explore alternativesolutionsto problems.
If you choseJulia Lacomba'sactivity, then your dominant style preferenceis most
likely lnterpersonal. Studentswho prefer the Interpersonalstyle learn best from others
or when the content has a strong relevanceto their lives. Thesestudents do well with
activitiesthat are personal,connectedto their lives,or that result in helping others.