Believe in Your Maths Potential - Set Yourself Free | Jo Boaler | TEDxOxford

Jo Boaler explains why mathematics is so traumatic for many people and shows a different way that people can relate to mathematics. She also shares the latest brain science to show the ways our brains process mathematics, the importance of visual learning and the importance of self belief to our learning and our experiences.
Jo Boaler is an award winning writer and educator, a professor at Stanford and co-founder of youcubed.org. She leads a movement to change the ways teachers and students think about and experience mathematics.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@rosabw]

Gives new meaning to the expression, "Show your work."

[@teev7]

All I can say is thank you!

[@marciedawson7513]

Thank you Jo for changing my way of thinking!

[@hadishams5732]

YOU! YES YOU CAN DO IT, if you FAILED its okay, you,ll figure it out don,t give up on yourself, thats just how people learn math, failinf is just another word for growing and improving people will tell you that some people are just born with a math brain which is nonsense and not true by any means, you fail, you learn, you improve, thats how it goes you shouldn,t be ashamed of mistakes and failures because thats doesn,t mean your worthless because you can,t. Good luck and best wishes.

[@yootoob1001001]

Thank you!

[@cetaceans4progress375]

this was absolutely lovely

[@Mr12111963]

thank you

[@aryavijaykumar4700]

Thank you all very much

[@clowheeler]

This lady is fantastic

[@Psychokitten113]

Maths is tear generating, the sheer torture and monotony of it and the feeling of worthlessness it generates brings on the tears..............

[@tggt00]

btw I just watched the video, they cried because math was beautiful, not torture. Please for the love of god stop with the "math is torture" propaganda. Seriously it's pure propaganda.

[@Psychokitten113]

@@tggt00 Its not propoganda, math is torture, ive tried it numerous times makes no connections, brings tears of despair. Its obviously some people get it, i never so ive accepted im not a maths person never will be

[@xavierkreiss8394]

To me, maths is cold , grey, and incomprehensible. But I don't claim that this is the case: it's just the way I see it, it's subjective. And if by saying this I've irritated someone, then that someone should think of how I feel when I hear people say it's interesting or beautiful. That, too, is subjective. Maths is neither one nor the other: it's just maths, and people react differently. Now to "maths is torture": as a child in secondary school it was a nightmare, yes. Bad marks, being continually "bottom of the class", etc. Lack of comprehension led to that feeling of powerlessness, then boredom. After a time I stopped listening. You tend to do that after a time, if you don't understand what's going on. I will that this was over 50 years ago. I haven't made any progress in maths since and sometimes, thinking of it all (as I'm doing now) I feel a strange kind of numbness in my arms and hands. Some say it's a symptom of anxiety, other say it's phobia. Whatever the case, it isn't "propaganda".

[@xavierkreiss8394]

@@tggt00 You have no idea of the trauma some of us have had to suffer at school during math classes. And how frustrating it is to hear people say "anyone can do maths" when we can't. Perhaps people who haven't experienced math phobia should refrain from judging those who have.

[@dorsavh3470]

Finally the true definition of maths

[@xavierkreiss8394]

I agree. The talk to me is incomprehensible, which is indeed a good definition of maths to me.

[@ruthcherry3177]

Thank you for your truly inspiring message. Sadly, the volume of this video is so low I had real difficulty hearing, and had to use the subtitles. I am using a laptop. I've noticed this with a few KZbin videos. Some are really loud, but that's great because we can always turn down the volume, unfortunately, we can't turn it up beyond the maximum.

[@marthamartinez6321]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful learning video. :)

[@claytonbigsbyyy]

i am so bad at math but by watching this i have motivated myself that i can do it

[@maxotbekessov5919]

Great!

[@proyc95]

i liked her method of asking a different open and creative question rather than asking a boring closed one. I'll try incorporate this as well

[@seenamsiddiqui1999]

Thank you ma'am ... I really needed this right now

[@nicolablackmore7937]

Wonderful

[@Michael_Livingstone]

I still want to burn every math textbook that I see.

[@AmyLatorresRios]

Do you believe that Dyscalculia is a real thing? Can persons with this condition overcome their challenges with math?

[@xavierkreiss8394]

Dyscalculia is indeed real but very rare. Maths anxiety or phobia is far more widespread and documented. People with dyscalculia can't handle numbers. I can: I can do simple arihmetic/calculations. But further than that, to me maths is a kind of cold concrete wall.

[@tggt00]

What's with all the hardcore math haters here?

[@xavierkreiss8394]

What about us? Shold we stay away or refrain from giving our views? You have to feel, once in your life, that feeling of revulsion to understand. I and others comment because Ms Boaler seems to be wanting to help people with difficulties in maths. But as I explain higher up it doesn't work with me.

[@anthonypalma9866]

So all students can obtain the mathematical prowess of Paul Erdos and we are just teaching them wrong? Did you know that no one is born with an athletic body and all people can become an athlete to any level they want?

[@gabigham4]

The point is students should enjoy the process of doing math with the kind joy that Erdos exemplified. Its interesting that you mention Erdos since one of his claims to fame is how many different mathematicians he worked with. Erdos, as much as anyone, exemplified mathematics at its highest level as a social collaboration. The types of math classes that Boaler advocates are ones where math is often a group activity, and where creativity and communication are important skills. This is a collaborative as opposed to competitive environment where the emphasis is equally on enjoyment as on improvement, which are not mutually exclusive, in fact, there is evidence they are correlated positively. If you want basketball players to improve, are you best served by going around measuring kids and shaming them with "you'll never be Lebron," or by simply teaching kids to enjoy the game and letting the ones who with true passion and skill take it to a new level?

[@xavierkreiss8394]

I can't understand a word of that squares problem. It isn't powerful to me, it's incomprehensible. 3x4 : 2 why divided by 2? nx (n+1): 2 means nothing to me, and neither does 1/2 n (n+1) She is addressing people who already understand maths. If THAT is meant to make me relate to maths, then I'm afraid Pr Boaler doesn't know what happens in the head of a maths phobic. I was the last in my class half a century ago, and I still understand nothing about maths. I'm neither proud nor ashamed. This is just fact.

[@jaymie-leacollingwood2753]

Hey, I really didn't enjoy math at school either, and found it really difficult, and for sure thought that I could never understand math. However, after watching videos like these i've come to realise that I needed to change my mindset when I approached math, and also find different explanations to explain a concept if I didn't understand. The internet has been wonderful for me for that - something I didn't have while at school. However, I did understand this quadratic equation and I was really shocked and excited that I did :) . I'd like to share my understanding with you and see if it helps you. So, to get the equation, you need to 1. Find the picture that is 3 boxes high and 3 boxes wide. 2. Create a rectangle by putting the same tiered shape on top of the first one so that it fit's snugly into the spaces 3. When you have done that, you will see that the height is now 4 boxes high and the width is still 3 boxes wide 4. Now for the equation width = 3, height = 4 and divide by two because there are 2 of the same shape and you get: (3x4)/2 = 6 n x (n+1)/2 --> 3 x (3+1) = 6 (That is, 3x3 + 3x1) = 9+3 = 12 then divide that by the 2 shapes and you get 6 1/2 n (n+1) --> (1/2 x 3) x (3+1) = 6 Hope this helps

[@Psychokitten113]

So true, she preaches to those that already have some background in maths

[@xavierkreiss8394]

@@jaymie-leacollingwood2753 I've looked at the clip once more. and read your comment again. Thank you for taking the trouble to answer. I don't understand your explanation. But I've found the shape you allude to, I've drawn it and cut it out, and another identical one. It does fit. But I don't see what that proves, and above all I don't understand your aequations. I'm surprised that you should even imagine that I might understand them, given what I said in my comments above. It's all a jumble of letters and numbers which mean nothing to me. Again, thank you for trying. Ms Boaler has done nothing to make maths less traumatic for me - on the contrary. As I have said before, she's addressing people who already have a certain level in maths. How can she claim to "explain why mathematics is so traumatic for many people" : has she looked inside the heads of people like me and experienced the problem in the same way as people like me? If not, how can she claim to explain it? Is there anyone out there who can really help? I've begun to doubt it seriously, since none of them seem to "understand why we don't understand". If they don't, how can anyone help?

[@juliogarcia1152]

Brilliant and false speech

[@shynebab8680]

Her charlatanism has broken through. She is a fleecer as well. 5000k per hour for pushing nonsense in the name of consulting.