If you teach mathematics at any level, then do yourself a favor and acquaint yourself with the work of Jo Boaler. I train teachers around the country and have been surprised how many folks have never heard of her transformative work in the mathematics classroom. My friend Jill Gough tested this in her session at the Martin Institute Conference. She had 40 participants and not one of them had heard of Jo Boaler. Seriously? How is this possible?
Who is Jo Boaler? Let me start by sharing one of her most significant ideas. This year, I have a goal of putting up posters in my room that represent ideas I want my students to embrace, to create an environment that promotes learning. Here is the first poster that I have created.
How did I make this supercool poster you ask? Well, I had just heard Dave Burgess (the Teach Like a Pirate guy) speak and noticed that his posters were awesome. I leveraged technology and sent him a direct message on twitter to ask him how he created them. He told me his wife, Shelley, used Postermywall.com to create them. I tried it and I am pleased with the result! A nice example of how social media connects learners. I didn’t think to ask Dave until after the conference was over.
Jo Boaler teaches a free online class for Stanford University called, How to learn math: For Students. Many of my students have taken this class and it is a game-changer. In the class, she refutes some long-standing myths like:
- You are either a math person or you’re not a math person.
- If your not fast at math, you’re not good at math.
- Boys are just better at math than girls.
As well as address the causes of math anxiety. If you want your students to adopt a growth mindset like Carol Dweck talks about, I challenge you to let your students take this course. There are six lessons in the online course that take 20-30 minutes each. Here are some comments from some of my students who took the course:
By the way, this is not a paid advertisement for www.youcubed.org. I just believe in sharing good ideas and resources. My students have benefited from taking her class. Maybe your students can to? In the interest of full disclosure, Jo Boaler is one of my math heroes. I actually got a chance to meet her at the T^3 International Conference in Ft. Worth. Here is a pic.
If your students have taken Jo’s course, or you have something to add, please comment below!
Confessions of a wannabe Super Teacher 
I have never heard of her but I love what she is doing.
Great post, Jeff. About 1/3 of our Trinity School base classroom teachers and every 5th and 6th grader have certificates from Stanford for Jo’s How to Learn Math for Students. It is a game changer for math learners of all ages.
Hi Jeff,
My students all took her class this spring and they had comments very similar to your students. Even more importantly, they all said I should require next years students to take it early in the fall for maximum benefit. Jo’s new book –What’s Math Got To Do With It –is so worth reading. Teachers should take her teacher/parent class. Well worth the time and relatively low cost.
Thanks Jeff. I am also reading her latest book – awesome!
I like what the notes say.