Dave Hewitt Video

Our MAED 314A class got to watch a short video featuring two lessons being taught by Dave Hewitt, a grade 8 and 9 Math teacher in the UK. The enjoyable part of watching Mr. Hewitt teach is that he seems to make the learning very enjoyable for his students. There is a definite theatrical style incorporated into his teaching method that seems to hold the interest of everyone in the classroom, and those watching the video. The idea of using a meter stick to make a tapping sound and to use space on the walls beyond the chalkboard are two tools that he uses to keep the students engaged and actually learning in a non-boring, ‘outside the box’ way. Once he has established the students basic understanding of how numbers fit on the number line, he begins to introduce algebra without anyone realizing variables have been introduced. When many math students see their first x or y as part of a mathematics problem a wave a fear goes over. The students in Mr. Hewitt’s class had nothing to fear when he was simply “thinking of a number that…” When an x was then introduced, it was a seamless progression. It is entertaining and engaging methods such as those of Mr. Hewitt that I think would make the Secondary Mathematics classroom a much more enjoyable place for so many young minds and I hope to teach in that classroom.