Adventures in Math: How to Level Up Your Math Game
Math is hard It takes time You might feel frustrated But it's also an adventure And when you find the solution you'll be excited and feel a sense of accomplishment Welcome to the jungle MYTH People who are good at math are born that way They have a math brain that others don't They can do math quickly and easily TRUTH Everyone who is good at math works hard at it Everyone can get better at math with effort Math myths are harmful in a sneaky sort of way They suggest that some people are math people and others are not and nothing can be changed about it Worse you don't even know you're affected by these rigid beliefs Throughout this book we'll look at different math myths To help debunk them you'll read about people who have used math to do amazing things Their stories will help change how you think about math- and your ability to do it well
MARYAM MIRZAKHANI Born May 12 1977 Iran It is like being lost in a jungle and trying to use all the knowledge that you can gather to come up with some new tricks and with some luck you might find a way out In sixth grade Maryam Mirzakhani didn't think she was very good in math and neither did her teacher When her teacher handed back the marked final tests for the class Maryam shredded hers and put the scraps in her backpack She told her best friend Roya she wasn't going to try to do better at math The next year Maryam had a different teacher who was more encouraging Maryam and Roya enjoyed math so much that they wanted spots on Iran's Math Olympiad team which competed against different countries The two friends were determined to go even though Iran had never had girls on their team before Maryam and Roya found copies of old tests and tried them It took them days to answer half the questions In the real test they'd have only hours Still they knew they could do it if only they had the right instruction They asked their principal for help Their school created a course for them like the boys had on how to answer the Olympiad questions The girls earned places on the team and returned home with medals Roya won silver Maryam won gold Maryam and Roya went on to have successful careers in mathematics teaching and researching at prestigious universities Maryam was the first Iranian and the first woman to win the Fields Medal one of the highest honors a mathematician can receive To keep learning Maryam worked slowly and deeply She asked lots of questions She persevered Although Maryam died from cancer in 2017 she continues to inspire people There is an annual math award called the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize for female mathematicians
RESEARCH SAYS Effort Is Everything In her book Mindset psychologist Carol Dweck described two mindsets fixed and growth A fixed mindset is a belief that we are born with set abilities and talent and can't do much to change them A growth mindset is a belief that through effort and perseverance we can get better A growth mindset means that when you learn something new and don't quite understand it you say to yourself I don't understand yet This gives you the confidence to work on it to trust that it will get easier even though it's hard right now Words are important As Carol said the word yet can be very powerful Students who believed intelligence can change did better on all three areas reading science and math of an international test administered by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development How can we develop a growth mindset One way is through stories In one study researchers had two groups of students read stories about mathematicians The difference was the message in the stories One group of students read about the natural genius of mathematicians and their great achievements Afterward these students didn't think they could improve their math abilities They felt they either knew their stuff or didn't They had adopted a fixed mindset The other group of students read stories about the persistence and hard work behind mathematicians great discoveries These students adopted a growth mindset They persevered and spent more time understanding math problems The different messages of the stories led the students to approach math in different ways What stories do you tell yourself about what you can or can't do
X Z 2 4 8 6 6n 7 5 2x 2 1 MIND OVER MATH Use the Goldilocks Rule In math class if something feels too challenging and you don't understand it's important to ask for help Math ideas build on each other Think of learning math like climbing a ladder You can't reach the top rung without using the lower rungs If you build your knowledge one rung at a time you will feel secure as you advance to the top You need to use the Goldilocks Rule That's where the math isn't too hard or too easy it's just right Tutors teachers and online support can help James Clear author of the book Atomic Habits wrote that the Goldilocks Rule helps you stay motivated He recommended that you also measure your progress and receive immediate feedback whenever possible You don't need to do Math Olympiad-level problems at the beginning Even Maryam and Roya who eventually won medals at those competitions needed to practice and have special instruction on how to answer the questions Remember too that even when math problems are just-right challenges learning new ideas might take more time Have confidence in your ability Don't feel rushed to finish your math worksheet in class You don't have to be the first person to solve a problem The most important thing is to understand the concepts you're learning Take your time as you work through math problems The goal isn't to be quick but to understand
