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Coursera

Making Math Click: Understand Math Without Fear

Deep Teaching Solutions via Coursera

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Overview

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Unlock the secrets of mathematical learning with "Making Math Click," a groundbreaking course from educators Dr. John Mighton and Dr. Barbara Oakley. Drawing from their journeys from math struggles to success, they share powerful strategies that work for learners of all abilities and backgrounds. This course dismantles myths about mathematical ability, revealing how structured practice and strategic scaffolding help any learner succeed. You'll discover how your brain's conscious understanding and automatic pattern-recognition systems work together, with practical techniques to strengthen both pathways. Through compelling case studies and examples, you'll explore how retrieval practice, interleaving, and the "85% sweet spot" of productive challenge accelerate math learning. The course uniquely bridges traditional and reform approaches to mathematics education, demonstrating how combining conceptual understanding with systematic practice creates optimal learning conditions. Whether you're a teacher, parent, tutor, or adult learner, you'll gain evidence-based strategies to overcome math anxiety, develop fluency, and build lasting understanding. "Making Math Click" will transform how you approach mathematical learning and open new doors to success.

Syllabus

  • MODULE 1: Challenging the "Myth of Ability"
    • Ever dread a required math course or struggle to help someone with unfamiliar math homework? In this first module, mathematician John Mighton and engineering professor Barbara Oakley share their personal journeys from math struggles to mathematical success. You'll learn surprising insights about how your brain processes mathematics, exploring why students who struggle may have too MANY neural connections rather than too few. Through practical examples involving fractions and other fundamental concepts, you'll discover how both understanding and practice contribute to mathematical mastery. Whether you're learning math yourself or helping others learn, this module provides key insights about how the brain really tackles mathematical thinking, laying the groundwork for more effective learning strategies.
  • MODULE 2: Building Math Foundations with Scaffolding, Retrieval, and Structured Learning
    • What makes math finally "click" for students? This module reveals the science behind successful math learning, exploring why students learn best when achieving about 85% success on new material. You'll discover how to build strong neural pathways through smart scaffolding - breaking complex ideas into manageable steps. Through practical examples, you'll learn why retrieval practice (pulling information from memory) proves far more effective than passive review, and see how extension activities can challenge advanced students while keeping core concepts clear. The module concludes by examining why simpler representations often work better than elaborate real-world problems, showing how to strip away distracting details so students can grasp essential mathematical patterns.
  • MODULE 3: Motivating Students Through Engagement and Practice
    • Think everyone has to learn math at the same speed? This module reveals why differences in learning pace can become strengths rather than weaknesses. Through concrete classroom examples of teaching division, you'll see how effective teachers manage different learning speeds in the same classroom, using smart extension questions to keep everyone engaged and learning. Whether you're a teacher or a learner, you'll discover why spaced practice works better than cramming, and how to turn different learning speeds into advantages for deeper understanding.
  • MODULE 4: Unlocking Student Potential Through Motivation and Mastery
    • How do we spark genuine enthusiasm for math while bridging different teaching approaches? This final module explores the science of motivation and the power of multiple explanations to reach diverse minds. You'll discover how interleaving different types of problems helps build deeper understanding, and see how traditional and reform approaches to math teaching can work together. Through practical examples of tackling word problems and meeting different learners' needs, you'll learn how to make math accessible to every kind of mind. The module concludes by showing how to bring these varied approaches together to help all students succeed in mathematics.

Taught by

Dr. Barbara Oakley and Dr. John Mighton

Reviews

5.0 rating, based on 7 Class Central reviews

4.8 rating at Coursera based on 26 ratings

Start your review of Making Math Click: Understand Math Without Fear

  • Profile image for Stephane Bolton
    Stephane Bolton @stephanebolton
    I loved this course! After discovering John Mighton and Barbara Oakley through the Chalk and Talk podcast, I wanted a deeper understanding of the research behind JUMP Math and how to use the curriculum most effectively. This course provided exactly…
  • Anonymous
    What can I say? I’m a fan of Dr. Barbara Oakley. I’ve taken nearly all the courses of hers I could find on Coursera. And now, I’ve become a new follower of Dr. Mighton, who just makes teaching math click for me.
  • Anonymous
    I loved this course! After discovering John Mighton and Barbara Oakley through the Chalk and Talk podcast, I wanted a deeper understanding of the research behind JUMP Math and how to use the curriculum most effectively. This course provided exactly…
  • Anonymous
    I have taken this course because I have always struggled with math. It was a nice course, but for someone who took practically all courses of Barbara Oakley, it did not give a lot of new information. It put UncommonSense Teaching ideas into how to learn and teach math. But it gave me repetition, and as the course says, spaced repetition is key to learning, and also a reassurance that it was not me who was to blame for years of struggle, because I really tried hard. It is worthwhile to take. The lecturers are perfect, and the knowledge is invaluable. But if you do this, you should also do UncommonSense Teaching, because the ideas are more detailed there.
  • Anonymous
    Very insightful and had practical demonstrations. I'm excited to use these told in my SEND classroom
  • Anonymous
    Another excellent course about learning from Deep Teaching Solutions. If you are anxious about mathematics or know someone who is, take this course! It explains HOW we learn and also how teachers can help struggling students. And if you are the struggling student, this course will help.
  • Anonymous
    So brilliantly put together. I did it to be able to help my grandchildren learn maths. I learnt so much! I'm now going away to find a Kumon-like course for adults with gaps in their maths learning....

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