Garth’s Empathy Map
This empathy map is very specific to math courses in skilled trade programs.
The vast majority of students are self-described as “hands on”. At it’s heart, math is abstract.
Yes, math certainly has many real life applications. But mathematicians are usually interested in the intricacies (and beauty) of the language itself independent of physical relevance.
Math educators have been working long and hard to overcome this purely academic attitude. But the attitude’s effects can still be seen. Skilled trade students often enter a math course with a supreme lack of confidence that is evident from behavior ranging from withdrawal to belligerence.
This empathy map was valuable to me as a way of giving structure to my ongoing thoughts about teaching students who are often uninterested and “mathphobic”.
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