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October Innovation and Collaboration Spotlight
At Hockaday, innovation and collaboration are at the heart of how we inspire girls to think critically, solve problems creatively, and lead with confidence.
Each month, we’re spotlighting a faculty member who is bringing these ideals to life in our classrooms. This month, we’re featuring Middle School math teacher Jenni Stout, who has transformed her teaching approach to help students develop a lifetime love of math.
After reading the book Building Thinking Classrooms, Jenni Stout, Middle School math teacher, changed her approach to teaching math to better engage the girls in her classes. This new method of teaching, which emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, and active engagement, is a different approach than the traditional lecture-style classroom approach that focuses on information transfer, memorization, and passive learning.
“Jenni is unafraid of trying new teaching methods if she sees that her students could be better challenged,” said Caroline Robb ’07, Math Department Chair. “Her classroom is vibrant and dynamic, with the students deriving new math concepts for themselves every single day. Kids come out of her class with a joy for math and the confidence that they can accomplish hard things.”
Each class starts with a thinking task that might not have anything to do with the curriculum. Girls are put in random groups and must solve a problem when they haven’t been given the steps – this helps them build stamina when they encounter a math problem that doesn’t look like something they have seen before.
Girls work on vertical surfaces because getting up and moving around can change the way they think. The person who writes cannot participate in the problem-solving discussion and can only write what the group tells them. This approach helps to improve the communication and listening skills within each group.
The Hockaday School
Within the private school community, The Hockaday School is an independent college-preparatory day school for girls from grades PK–12 located in Dallas, Texas. Students realize their limitless potential through challenging academic curricula, arts, athletics, and extracurricular programs so that they are inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.