Word problems try and tell students a story about the math problem in front of them. They are a useful way to connect abstract numbers to concrete situations, so students can learn early on to apply ...

Students often struggle to connect math with the real world. Word problems—a combination of words, numbers, and mathematical operations—can be a perfect vehicle to take abstract numbers off the page.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about the intersection of learning, research, and technology. It’s often said that the best teachers don’t teach their ...

Confidence in your ability to learn is the key to success in math class! Some students who experience difficulty or struggle learning in math class give up because they think that they are not capable ...

As a student, AI has been most helpful for me in my study sessions. Before everyone comes at me, I don’t mean using AI to cheat my way through exams or have it solve entire assignments for me. Instead ...

For 23 years, I’ve taught high school math. And for 23 years, I’ve been told by people that they either are a “math person” or they are not. I get it: Math isn’t easy. Movies and TV shows make it look ...

This story originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of Texas Monthly as part of our public-education feature, “What Our Schools Actually Need.” Humans have been learning math for thousands of ...